The Gift Thief Mishap
By Snapegirlkmf and CJ Moliere
A/N: This was written as a request for a reviewer who asked for more Mishap tales. We were going to have this first chapter written in January but it didn't work out that way, so . . . hope you all like! Takes place right after A Little Fishing Mishap.
1
Holiday Mishaps
If there was one thing Bae dreaded it was fighting the crowds to do the family's Christmas shopping but it was getting close to Christmas and they couldn't wait around any longer.
Killian's list for Santa was a small one but one of the items was a request for meatballs for Christmas dinner since he loved Emma's meatballs and a few toys.
Bae figured that the dinner would be the least of their worries. One of the things he disliked about the shopping trip, besides the fact that there were nasty impatient people who thought they were the only ones in the store, was that holidays were a prime time for thieves to strike unsuspecting shoppers and lift their wallets, cash, credit cards, and other items.
He could recall from his days as a snatch and grab artist exactly how to slip his hand into a harried mom's purse and take her wad of cash, or into a man's back pocket and take his wallet. So quickly they never even felt it . . .until they went to look for their money and found it gone.
Fortunately he and Emma were well prepared should anyone attempt to rob them but those people would also be sorry.
Bae never put his wallet in his pants pockets, or in his hoodie either, only in a special pocket in his shirt, in the front, which closed securely.
He also never carried more than a few hundred dollars in cash on him during the holidays, and though he had an ATM card, hardly used it because he also knew about hackers.
Emma carried her money and the one credit card they had in a small drawstring bag around her neck, where prying hands and electronic readers couldn't find it.
Nowadays electronic readers were the latest weapon of choice for credit card thieves. The reader would scan the card number and save it for the thief to use later, most of the time they used them online since it was easier.
Emma's little drawstring bag was made of special material that blocked the scanner beams, as was Bae's special pocket, which Rumple had sewn into all his shirts.
Belle wanted to do some last minute shopping of her own and invited Donna, Selene, and Peri to join her. Selene needed to visit the baby store.
She took Miri with her this time, because they were going in places where babies were expected and people wouldn't get annoyed if she happened to be crying or the stroller took up most of the aisle.
Also having the baby accompany them would give Selene an idea of what to expect once she had her own. The baby was due in February close to Archie's birthday.
Though Miranda Gold was one of the most happy and sweet natured babies Belle had ever seen, and it wasn't her just being biased because she was Miri's mother. All of the women said so once they met the grinning giggling little tot.
She had her papa's floofy light brown hair that seemed kissed with gold and Belle's bright cerulean eyes. Other facial features were harder to define at the moment, though Belle swore she had Rumple's stubborn chin also.
"I know our baby will be more like Archie than me," Selene mused aloud while the women were at the Victorian looking through the ads for the various department stores they planned to shop in. Donna was still getting used to modern shopping after being a wooden puppet for centuries but the ladies of Storybrooke were helping her adjust.
"Why do you say that, Selene?" Belle asked.
Miri waved a small soft rattle shaped like a rose in her infant seat.
"Just guessing I suppose but I'm not having as many problems as Mum did when she was carrying me...morning sickness and that lot." She laughed. "But I'm craving fish and chips more and I hate fish!"
Belle laughed. "That's normal. I hate spicy foods yet when I was carrying Miri I could eat a jar of hot peppers. And I put hot sauce on everything and made Rumple want to throw up."
"I make Archie ill from some of my concoctions."
"I drove Nick crazy craving doughnuts...he's a cop and he hates them," Peri snickered.
"That's a bit odd." Selene giggled.
"Why?" Belle asked curiously.
"Oh haven't you heard the old cop and doughnuts jokes? I have and so has Nick which is why he avoids them," Peri replied.
"What joke?"
"That cops spend more time eating doughnuts than doing their jobs and it irritates Nick. He works so hard and so do his other brothers and sisters in blue and I get angry when people make fun of them."
Belle frowned. "We all know that, Peri. And we appreciate how well he does his job here. That's just silly."
"It is but that's what we used to deal with in Florida."
"Well, that won't be the case here," Belle reassured her. "If anyone says something like that when Rumple, Regina, or I am around they'll regret it."
Peri grabbed her purse. "Well, I guess we'd better get going before the mob hits the stores."
"True," Belle nodded, then she went to put Miri in the car, which she had heating in the driveway. Rumple had insisted they install an automatic starter, because winters in Maine were hell.
Once they arrived at the mall they were having a difficult time finding a parking spot and the ones that were free were disabled parking spots only.
"Too bad Rumple wasn't here," Peri sighed.
"Oh I've seen people put that sign up in their cars and not have a bloody thing wrong with them," Selene grouched. "Thank goodness I have my comfortable shoes on."
"And it's not too windy," Belle sighed. She was always worried Miri would take a chill.
Inside the mall people were rushing from store to store, several shopping bags hanging from their arms and there were several stores where the checkout lines were long enough that people were even waiting near the store entrances to be waited on and several customers were complaining and cursing.
Belle frowned. This didn't seem like people were in the holiday spirit.
"I'd love to go back to the days when Christmas wasn't so commercial!" Donna sighed. "That little boy on the cartoon knew what he was talking about."
"I thought Christmas was the season of giving. But now it seems like it's the season of buying." Belle sighed.
Now she understood better why Rumple preferred handmade gifts.
"People have forgotten what the holiday is about but not in my family. We go to the Christmas Eve Mass, I have a nativity scene in my yard and we're always sending donations to food banks and shelters," Peri said.
"Rumple and I give to a lot of people, especially the orphanage, and others he knows that don't have much," Belle told them. "We do a tree in the orphanage called the Giving Tree, and a child places a card on the tree with a gift they really want for someone to choose to get them. We also give to the animal shelter."
"So does Archie," Selene murmured.
"Hey you gonna stand there looking stupid or you gonna get outta my way!" a man yelled at them.
"Oh bugger off! We're not in your way!" Selene retorted.
"Watch it, Fatty!"
Miri, upset by the man's tone, began crying. But not her normal fussing tone, she began to scream angrily, her face bright red.
"You wanna shut that goddam kid up!"
Belle, who was going to pick up her daughter, gave the man a glare worthy of an Amazon and snapped, "If you weren't so loud and rude, she wouldn't be crying! Ae you proud of scaring a baby, mister? And insulting pregnant women?"
"And if walking through a crowded mall and crying children bother you so much, why don't you shop online . . . so you aren't subjecting yourself and others to your lack of Christmas spirit!" Peri growled.
"You're lucky I don't have my husband's umbrella or I'd wallop your sorry arse!" Selene snarled.
"You're lucky my husband isn't here or else he'd be giving you a whack with his cane," Belle growled, holding Miri on her shoulder and rocking her. She hated hearing her normally sunny baby howling in fear and anger, and she patted her back and whispered, "It's okay, darling. Mama's here, sweetling."
A security guard approached them. "All right you...leave the women alone or I'll be calling the sheriff!"
The women watched with satisfaction as the man quickly walked away.
The baby quit crying as soon as he was gone and began smiling instead, the smile reminiscent of a certain imp.
"Well now hopefully we won't run into anymore people like that!" Donna exclaimed.
"Yes. Now, shall we find the baby boutique?" Belle said, and she let Selene push the stroller while she carried Miri, so the baby could look around.
Page~*~*~*~Break
At the house Killian and the new Nevengers were watching A Charlie Brown Christmas while Henry was attempting to wrap gifts.
"Henry, that looks like crap!" Killian teased, pointing to the poorly wrapped package containing Rumple's gift.
"Like you can do better!" his brother huffed.
"Grandpa taught me how so yeah!"
"Fine! Let's see it!" he challenged.
"Oooh! It's the Christmas wrapping showdown at the Gold corral!" Bobby hooted.
"You gotta cut the paper cause I'm not allowed to use those scissors."
"Okay. Tell me when to stop," his brother sighed.
He began unrolling some more of the blue moons and gold stars paper, which looked like the old Sorcerer's Apprentice hat.
"There! Now you gotta put the box here." He pointed to the center of the paper.
"Then you bring the sides up like this an' tape em."
Henry copied Killian's instructions, finding the present was much easier to wrap this way. Now why didn't Mom know this? he wondered.
"Now since Gramma's gift is a perfume bottle we gotta do something different."
He grinned. "We're gonna do the box trick. You know how to do the box trick, right?"
"Umm . .. no," Henry admitted.
"You know how?" he asked his friends
They all shook their heads.
"Okay you gotta find me one really big box...then a couple little ones that fit one inside the other."
Henry went to get the boxes. When he returned with them he said, "Now what?"
Killian grabbed the smallest box and carefully placed the perfume bottle inside. "You put it in here first...and tape it up. If ya really wanna be funny you gotta use a lot of tape. Ya know how tape happy Grandpa is." He then grabbed his father's roll of duct tape and sealed the box closed. "Now gimme another one."
"Okay. Here," Henry handed him the medium box.
He placed the smaller box inside the medium one. "Now you gotta keep doin that til you use up all the boxes then wrap it up."
Henry did as instructed, smirking.
"You wanna do this one on somebody else too?"
"Like who?"
Killian laughed. "Granpa, who else?"
"Only in his we gotta put an extra gag in...got any ideas?"
Willie snickered. "Reindeer poop?"
"How about coal? For the one who's been naughty?" Annie suggested. "Dad's always teasing us that if we're bad, that's what Santa will leave us."
"And next year he can give it to someone else."
"This box says Christmas fruit cake door stop" Henry laughed, as he found a box in the recycling bin which had been a joke to Emma from Nick.
"Cool...use it!"
Henry put the real present inside of it and taped the lid down.
"You guys wanna do the box trick on anyone?" Killian asked his fellow Nevengers.
"Dad already knows that one," Bobby said.
"My dad doesn't" Yasmina announced. "I'm gonna do it."
"What if we did it on the Butt Muncher?" suggested Roland slyly. "You know that song "I'm Gettin' Nuttin' For Christmas?" what if we wrapped up a box with nothing in 'cept a note and it said "You got nuttin' for Christmas-cause you ain't been nuttin' but bad?"
The Nevengers grinned. "I say we do it. She's got it comin after she tried to hide poor Geppetto's parents from us," Beth spoke up.
"We can make it all nice and stuff . . .so it looks really cool," Killian giggled.
"Boy is she gonna be shocked when she opens it!" The Professor quipped.
He had Henry wrap up a smaller box with glittery red and green paper and tie a big red velvet bow around it. Then he wrote in his neatest printing-To Sapphira From Your Secret Santa.
"She prolly thinks he likes her or something," Willie shook his head, "Meanie."
They hid Sapphira's gift in Henry's room until they were ready to deliver it.
Then they finished the rest of the gifts and put them beneath Henry's tree.
Page~*~*~*~Break
Across town the man the women had encountered in the mall removed a bag of items from the trunk of his car with a smirk. While the security guard was busy with him, his wife was able to steal several items from the stores that they could fence through a man they knew in Portland.
And these would not be the only burglaries they would commit this holiday season.
They planned to hit several homes in Storybrooke next.
Specifically the wealthiest homes in Storybrooke.
After all, whatever was taken they could easily replace.
And they had money to spare so why not give some to those in need?
In another part of town a man walked down the street with his head bowed, fighting back tears and holding an envelope with his final paycheck from his job that would not be enough to pay the family bills or to buy gifts for under their tree. There was no one he could ask to help them, at least in his opinion.
He would give his family a good Christmas somehow.
He was a hardworking man, had been all of his life both in this world and the Enchanted Forest. He worked at the Wheen and Jowls Funeral Home and he took special care with the people who were brought to him to make certain that when their families and friends came to mourn them, they would look just as they were remembered but it had been quite some time since there'd been a funeral and his boss was forced to make cutbacks. It was difficult for Mr. Wheen to do knowing that Cedric had seven children at home from his first wife and his second wife Evangeline was expecting their eighth. He could have called on his first wife's aunt Adelaide but they were no longer on speaking terms since he'd stood up to her after years of her taunting him that he'd been surviving on her generosity for years. He certainly hadn't enjoyed that arrangement and worked very hard to pay back ever cent owed to her and he'd finally done so a month earlier.
He could have dismissed the family's cook to save money but she'd been with the family for years and he didn't have the heart to send away family. It had been heartbreaking enough when Adelaide wanted to take one of his daughters with her to learn how to be lady...the children arranged for her to take Evangeline instead, who was working in the Brown house as a scullery maid and longed to be lady so that Cedric would love her as he loved his wife. Their financial situation had improved slightly after their wedding with Evangeline taking a cleaning job to help pay the bills and her work schedule still allowed her to spend time with the children. Little did he know he was not the only member of their family out of a job.
"You didn't run into any trouble, did you, dearies?" Rumple inquired softly when the women returned from the mall.
"Oh just some rude bloke who had the nerve to call me fat," Selene said. Archie's eyes narrowed to slits. "You can relax love, I think little Miri here may have deafened him."
"Good!" the therapist growled. Nothing angered him more than people insulting his friends.
"These shopping malls are like our markets back home and just as mad!" Donna exclaimed.
"I'm glad you didn't go out on Black Friday, Mama. That's when they're the worst," Geppetto said softly.
"Well all of you need to scatter so we can wrap these," Belle shook her finger at the men. "And no spells to peek, Rumple."
He gasped in shock and placed his hand over his heard. "I would never..."
"Oh yes you would...off you go!"
While they waited, Rumple gathered up all the ingredients they would be using to make cookies later on in the evening. Miri watched from her carrier with interest.
Rumple smiled at his daughter, an idea forming in his mind. Miri loved to watch her parents cook and she would be in for a wonderful show that evening.
Half an hour later Belle called the men back into the living room, the presents wrapped and safe from prying eyes. The other couples bid the Golds goodnight and returned to their homes.
Rumple stayed in the living room with Miri watching Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer while Belle was in the kitchen making gingerbread cookies. She was on her guard while she was baking, knowing her husband was a notorious cookie thief and had been since their days in the Dark Castle, snatching them up whether they were finished cooling or not.
Not wanting a swat from Belle's spatula, Rumple tried desperately to resist the temptation to snatch one of those delicious gingerbreads and dip it in a cool glass of milk but seeing his daughter sniffing the air and cooing made it much more difficult. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his wife setting the first batch of freshly baked gingerbreads on the rack to cool while she prepared the second and had a suddenly inspiration. He crept into the kitchen while Belle's back was turned and grabbed one of the cookies off the tray, racing back into the living room. Miri's small hands reached for it.
"Watch this, dearie…" he whispered and waved his hand over the gingerbread.
The tiny cookie began to run across the Queen Anne coffee table.
"Run, run, run as fast as you can.
You'll never catch me, I'm the gingerbread man.
I ran from the baker and his wife too.
You'll never catch me, not any of you…." Rumple sang.
Miri giggled.
"The baker made a boy one day
Who leapt from the oven ready to play.
He and his wife were ready to eat
The gingerbread man who had run down the street…."
The cookie jumped onto Rumple's arm and ran up his shoulder, swatting at his ear.
"Run, run, run as fast as you can,
You'll never catch me, I'm the gingerbread man.
I ran from the baker and his wife too.
You'll never catch me, not any of you…."
"All right Rumple, I know you took one…oh!" The cookie was now dancing on the edge of Belle's teacup when she walked into the room. "Oh how cute!"
The cookie blew kisses at her.
Miri applauded from her father's lap and the cookie leaped into the air back onto the coffee table. It grabbed several Hershey's Kisses out of the bowl and started juggling them. Once Rumple finished singing he waved his hand over the cookie and turned it into a plush toy her size.
"There you go, dearie," he said softly. "Now you have your own gingerbread man."
Moments later she was asleep, her tiny arms hugging her new friend.
Page~*~*~*~Break
Over at his son's house, Henry was keeping Killian entertained while his parents wrapped gifts in the bedroom.
"Okay, Gold...we're gonna play a game to liven this wrapping thing up a bit," Emma said with a smirk.
His eyebrow arched. "Oh? What kinda game?"
"Just a little truth or dare..."
"Keep talking, Swan..."
"We either tell truths or take a dare...anything goes."
"Anything?" He was liking the sound of this.
She nodded. "And once you promise . . .you have to keep your word."
"You wanna start?
Emma crossed her arms over her chest. "What was the clothesline thing?"
"Dare!" Bae cried.
"Okay smart guy...I dare you to reenaact it."
"Aww dammit! And I thought I was gonna get out of it."
"Fat chance, Gold. You took the dare so you gotta do it. Now pay up!"
"Ummmm...don't I get a say in this?"
"No. You agreed. Anything goes. So pay up, Gold, or you're gonna be spendin Christmas on the couch. Shoulda put you there last year because you were too lazy to help me put the toys together!"
He looked away guiltily. "And of course I had a ton of people laughing at me after you posted your little love note on Facebook...not to mention getting my ass handed to me by Papa both as a kid and an adult!"
Emma couldn't help smirking. "Don't do it this year and you won't have anything to worry about," she mock scolded.
"God, I'm gonna have to drink a ton of Red Bull or Monster!"
"Those are no good for you. Just ask your papa for some of his energy potion."
"I take that and I'll be running the Indy 500 without a car!"
"Hmm . . .might be interesting. Seriously, though, just sleep during the day and then you'll be rested enough at night."
He laughed. "Fine. Now about the clothesline thing..."
"Wait. Lemme go pee, before I wet myself," Emma laughed.
Bae rolled his eyes. Why me? he thought mournfully.
Bae was hoping she'd spend a long time in the bathroom because he wasn't enjoying having to relate an incident where he acted like a complete fool and his father was not too pleased with him either.
Thinking back on it now, Bae realized his children, though they got into their little mishaps, were not as reckless as he was in his youth.
Oh yes, I was the Jackass, before Jackass...he thought ruefully.
Bae wondered how the hell Rumple had lived with some of the insane things he'd done without going utterly mad, beating the spit out of him, or having heart failure. Maybe there was something to be said for having a low key personality.
Bae knew that some therapist would have tried to chalk up some of his stunts to an unfulfilled need to "prove himself" to others, because of his papa's reputation, but really some of the things he had done weren't out of any desire to prove anything to anyone, but done just to see if he could get away with them.
Admit it, Gold. You were a hellion . . .and you got that little quirk from Milah.
Someday he would have to ask his papa if at times when he was growing up, Rumple never wished for a son who was more like him-quiet and obedient.
Well, mostly obedient, Bae amended, recalling some of the pranks his papa had pulled during his second childhood.
It all started when he'd been asked to hang the wash out on the line while his father was weaving blankets to sell at the market the following week. Bae never enjoyed having to do laundry, he preferred playing.
And in their yard was a tree he was itching to climb.
The trouble was, it was too high for him to climb himself but he'd heard one of his friends talk about men who used ropes to climb trees. He glanced up at the clothesline and smiled.
Maybe I can get up there with this...
His father had the line tied to two of the smaller trees with a stick in the middle so that he could raise and lower it when needed and Bae recalled where his father kept the shears he used for gardening.
Bae laughed now, wondering why his father hadn't mentioned how Killian's accident with his fishing pole on Father's Day was eerily similar to what they both called the 'clothesline incident."
He grabbed the shears and cut the line down, tying one end of it to a fishing hook and threw the other up around the shortest branch of the tree.
Now I'm gonna get up there! he thought and attached the hook to the waistband of his breeches.
As he was struggling to pull himself up he could hear tearing and suddenly his backside felt cold.
Just then his papa came out of the shack.
Rumple's eyes widened in disbelief and shock. "Bae! What in the name of all the gods are ye doin', lad?"
His son was-hanging from a clothesline by the seat of his breeches-which had torn and the whole village could see his backside!
"Ummm...ummm...tryin' to climb this tree..."
Rumple nearly swallowed his tongue at that brilliant reply. "What? That's fifteen feet and-and-Baelfire, are you tryin' t'drive me into an early grave?! What in bloody blue blazes were ye thinkin'? Or not thinking, I should say?" He shook his head in disappointment. "Ye could have been KILLED! As it is now you've torn another pair of breeches-and-those are the new ones I just made for you!" He gasped angrily.
"Ummm...Ummm...I'm sorry, Papa..."
Rumple put a hand to his head. Then he muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "Gods of Light grant me patience!" He gazed up at the clothesline and back at his son. "Just what were you tryin' to do with my clothesline, young man?"
"Climb the tree," Bae answered, feeling that his backside was going to be more than cold that evening.
His father gave him one of those Looks-the kind that usually withered him where he stood. "And just what were you planning on doing after you did so? How were you gonna get down? What if you fell? What if you were stuck up there? I couldn't get you down, boy, I can't climb anything!"
Now Bae felt like a fool. He'd KNOWN that but in his recklessness he'd forgotten it.
Rumple ran his fingers through his hair. "Bae, when will you learn to THINK before you act? Now look at what this foolishness has cost you-you've ruined my clothesline, your new breeches, almost hurt yourself, and nearly gave me a heart attack! Plus the laundry still isn't done!" He tapped his foot on the ground.
Bae stared at his shoes. "I...I'll do the laundry Papa."
"Oh you will, dearie," his father agreed. "And that's not all you'll be doing." He unhooked the waistband of his son's breeches from the fishing hook and helped him to the ground. "Go inside, take off your breeches and put them in the mending basket. Then I want you to sit and think about what you did, how wrong it was, and what might have happened because of your foolishness. I'll be in as soon as I fix the clothesline." Then he added sharply, "You're in serious trouble, young man, and this better never happen again."
Bae shivered knowing that when his father said the words 'you are in serious trouble' it always constituted a spanking that Rumple always said hurt him more than his son. Bae had trouble believing it then but after having to do it many times himself to his own son, he realized how true it was.
Rumple watched his son walk into the house, then began to pull the clothesline down, muttering a small prayer as he did so. He adored his son, and hated the punishment he was going to dole out, but deliberately putting himself in danger was one of the few things that Rumple had decreed would earn his child a spanking, though he refused to use a switch or a strap the way his own had upon him.
Bae was waiting for him in the cottage, sniffling.
Rumple went and got a chair that was usually left in a corner of the room. It was a chair kept for guests, which they hardly ever had, and so was rarely used. Except for occasions like this, he sighed. Then he beckoned to his son with a finger and disapproving sorrowful eyes.
Bae came, dragging his feet. "Papa, I'm sorry."
"I know. That's all well and good but it doesn't change things," his father said.
"But . . .I'm ten . . ."
Rumple's eyebrow arched. "What's that got to do with it? You're also old enough to know better. Or at least I thought so. Seems like I was wrong, wasn't I?"
Bae looked away in shame.
The spinner exhaled sharply. "Bae, I hate punishing you as much as you hate being punished. But it's my responsibility to correct you when you do something wrong. And sometimes the corrections sting, so it reminds you to think before you act."
"I'll do better. I promise! I don't wanna get spanked!"
"And I wish I didn't have to spank you. But you deliberately put yourself in harm's way, and you knew that." Rumple's jaw set. "So . . .as much as I don't like it, better a sore backside now than a broken head later." He sat down in the chair.
The spinner could have simply hauled the boy across his knee and commenced with the punishment, yet he deliberately did not do so, allowing his son to draw the conclusion that his own behavior had consequences and those consequences must be faced, and to submit willingly to them. He never wanted Bae to resent him or think he was unfair when he issued punishments-the way he had always resented Malcolm in the back of his mind.
Ashamed and feeling guilty, Bae gave in, knowing he deserved it.
Afterwards he gave the boy a hug. "I love you, Bae. Please don't make me do this again."
"...And I NEVER ever did anything that crazy again!"
Emma was rolling on the floor laughing hysterically. "Oh my God...I can just see it..."
"So when Killian got his hook caught in Papa's pants it made me think of the clothesline thing. Just surprised he didn't bring it up."
"My stomach hurts now...Bae..." As she lay on the floor, her lips curved into a wicked smirk. She waved her hand and a line with a fishing hook came down from the ceiling and attached itself to the back of his jeans, pulling him up off the floor.
"Hilarious, Mrs. Gold!" He griped. "Now let me down!"
She wriggled the line. "Not yet. Just a little more..."
"Emma!" he gasped. "You little tease! Have you no shame?" He groped for the hook, wriggling deliciously.
"I like Bae's butt and I cannot lie..." she sang as the hook glowed with magic.
"You're unbelievable!" he groaned. "I just hope the doorbell doesn't ring or the baby wake up . . ."
"Oh come on you stupid hook...ahhh that's it..." she murmured, seeing a small tear in the back of her husband's jeans.
"Dammit, Emma . . .if you want to see my ass . . ." he wriggled harder, thinking that he was lucky today's cloth was made sturdier than when he was a boy.
"Shake, shake shake that booty!" she catcalled.
"Honey, I swear when I get down from here, you're gonna be doing some shaking all right . . ." he mock-growled, smirking. Damn Levis!
"Well since you put it that way..." She waved her hand again and the line and hook vanished, along with the rest of his clothing while she lowered him to the floor.
"Abra, abracadabra...I wanna reach out and grab ya!" snickering, she pinched his butt.
He drew her to him and kissed her passionately. "Guess what, sweetheart?" he whispered into her ear. "I think Christmas came early!"
"It certainly did...but oh what would your papa say if he found out I was using my magic like this?" she purred.
"I don't wanna know, and I'm not telling!" he grinned. "Because what goes on in my house stays in my house."
Then he kissed her again and murmured, "Let's make some of that old black magic, princess."
"Now you're talkin, Mr. Gold and youuu'll shake me all night long!"
"Mmmhmm . . .with my Love Potion #9," he crooned, then he pinched her backside provocatively. "Sassy witch!"
"Rhiannon rings like bell through the night and wouldn't you love to love her?"
"I certainly would!" Bae cried and tackled her into the bed.
Page~*~*~*Break
Evangeline Brown walked back to the house she shared with her husband and seven stepchildren fighting back tears. She'd loved working for Mrs. Parker. She was a sweet elderly lady whose only family was a daughter and son-in-law who never visited and were not even in the house an hour after she'd passed away before they started talking about what they were going to do with Mrs. Parker's fortune.
"Your services are no longer needed," Vicki Parker said coolly.
"But….but…."
"We're selling the house. There's no need to have you around if there won't be a house to clean now is there?"
She nodded silently, gathered up her things and started walking home. She would have to find another job. Cedric's income simply would not be enough to support their growing family and it would be a cold day in hell before either of them groveled before that old trout Adelaide Stitch again! She could still remember the grueling 'training process' the old woman put her through to teach her how to be a lady. She hated the way she was made to dress, speak and act, she sounded horrible and phony but Cedric had seen through all of that. In his mind she was still the same and it was impossible for either of them to deny their true feelings for each other once that awful Selma Quickly was out of the way.
"Oh Nanny McPhee, I wish you were here to make things better for us again," Evangeline sighed.
If you want me, but no longer need me, then I have to go.
She knew their friend was out there somewhere, improving the life of another family as she had theirs. Though they were still having a difficult time financially, they were one of the wealthiest families in Storybrooke with the love they had for each other and helping families learn how to love one another had always been Nanny McPhee's mission.
Now the couple sat in Cedric's study on the loveseat together, his arms around her.
"I still have a bit left in the bank…it's not much….and we can sell some things in the house…" Cedric began.
She knew he was referring to some items left behind by the first Mrs. Brown, many of them antiques. "I'm sure Mr. Gold could give us a reasonable price."
"But…Cedric….we agreed those things would go to the children!"
"She would understand."
"But the children….would they?"
"There's no other way….until we find work…our children must have a Christmas!"
"Only small things they won't notice first, Cedric," she suggested.
Little did either of them know that Mrs. Parker was the kind of woman who never forgot a kindness, especially the kindness of the young woman who took time out of her busy schedule at home to look after her and brought some of her wonderfully behaved stepchildren to visit while she cleaned the house and cooked the meals. At that moment, while the Browns were making a list of the first Mrs. Brown's items to sell, Vicki Parker and her husband were seething with rage. Mrs. Parker did not forgive a slight either and eighteen years of silence had been enough of a slight to motivate her to change her will, excluding her only child and heir, bequeathing her entire fortune to a kind young woman named Evangeline Brown.
"That…that….scullery maid is not getting a DIME!" Vicki snarled once the younger woman left. "Thank God she didn't hear that bitch mention the will. Tell me you found it!"
"I'm lookin!"
"Look harder, damn you, even if you have to tear apart every inch of this godforsaken house!"
Page~*~*~*~Break
Belle and Miri decided to spend the next day at the pawnshop. Belle knew her husband would be extremely busy over the holidays and was more than happy to give him a hand.
"Darling, you should invest in another register," she advised him.
"Yes, I've been thinking about it," he replied. Business had improved since they had all become children again and then were changed back. "But then I would need to hire someone to be a cashier. Someone I trusted."
And there was the fact that he trusted precious few individuals except his family.
"Henry would have to be sixteen to work here, wouldn't he?"
Gold nodded. "Yes. That's a law. And he can work no more than four hours a day, three days a week."
"Then maybe I can if you teach me how. It can't be that hard. What do you think, sweetie? Should Mama help Papa out a little bit?" she asked their daughter, tickling her belly.
Miri giggled explosively, her laughter tinkling in the air and bringing joy to any who heard it, even in passing.
"It's not that hard. I'm sure it'll only take you an hour to learn," her husband replied. "But it's only temporary till I find someone else. Otherwise we'll need to find a nanny to watch the little dearie."
"All right."
The bell tinkled above the door and Cedric Brown entered, a blue cloth bag in his hands. "Good Afternoon, Mr. Gold, Mrs. Gold," he greeted with a faint smile.
"Mr. Brown," Gold nodded at him cordially and returned the smile. "What can I do for you?"
He set the bag down on the table and opened it. Inside was a pearl choker and earrings, the first gifts Cedric had given to the first Mrs. Brown when they were betrothed. "I would like to sell these," he said sadly.
Rumple pulled out his jeweler's loup, though he knew without checking they were genuine, and not manufactured pearls. He fingered the choker and said quietly, "You know these are rare Australian deep sea pearls. Are you certain you wish to part with them, Mr. Brown?"
He already knew what the answer would be, but he had to ask anyway, on principle. This way no one could accuse him of being a shark just eager to fence what was brought to him.
"Yes...What will you offer me?"
"Let me get my price guide," Gold murmured, and turned to the shelf just behind the register where he kept all the current antique and other price guides.
"Mr. Brown, is something wrong?" Belle asked worriedly.
"No, no...I was just...I no longer need these and..."
Rumple laid down the guide on the counter, prepared to page through it, and asked very softly, "You wouldn't be selling these because you need an extension on your rent, now would you? Because if you do, all I need is one earring as a promissory note. . . "
He could read the desperation on the other's face, and knew exactly what the other man was feeling, having been there himself. But he feared the other might be too proud to accept what he considered "charity".
"Umm...no, no I do not need an extension," Cedric said bravely.
Gold eyed him shrewdly. Then he sighed. "Very well." He knew better than to press. A man who came to him this way had very little pride left, he was not about to shred it further, despite the fact that he could have given Brown half what these were worth from the petty cash in his pocket. He consulted the book, then rounded up the number by an extra two hundred dollars.
"I can give you two thousand dollars," he told his customer.
"What...oh thank you Mr. Gold!" Cedric cried.
The other man held back his tears. The amount would be enough to cover the rent, groceries and a few gifts for the children. It was more than he could have hoped for.
"You're welcome, dearie. I can also extend the collateral on these to a year, which would give you time to buy them back if you want," the pawnbroker said generously. "They look like something you might want someday for your daughter."
As if in agreement, Miri squealed behind the counter, prompting her papa to pick her up. "It would seem this bitty lady agrees, don't you, alanna?" he crooned, kissing her delicate cheek. The word meant "darling" in Gaelic, a language he had worked hard to become proficient in.
"One of them...Aggie has her mother's pacifier...Lily or Chrissy would want them," Cedric murmured.
"I'll keep them safe then," Rumple said, and rang up the sale one handed, while his own baby girl played with his tie and drooled on his suit.
Cedric couldn't help laughing recalling the many times his seven children had done the same to him. "Nothing we wear is safe from that, is it?"
Rumple gave a rueful grin. "No . . .but that's one of the joys of fatherhood." He went to hand Cedric the bills and Miri tried to grab them. "Ah, ah. No money for you yet, imp!" he scolded playfully and laughed at the scowl that suddenly wrinkled her tiny features. "And none of your temper either, dearie."
"How is Mrs. Brown, I haven't seen her at the library?"
"Oh she's been a bit busy Mrs. Gold...caring for Mrs. Parker. She passed away I'm afraid."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Gold said sincerely, and gave Miri his tie to amuse herself with.
"I should be getting home. Thank you again, Mr. Gold and I'll be certain to have Evangeline stop by the library soon Mrs. Gold. Good day."
"Have a Merry Christmas," Rumple called, hoping that the money would help the poor man and his family do just that.
Then he turned to where his daughter had stuffed most of his hundred dollar Ferragamo into her mouth and said in a singsong voice, "Oh me, oh my! Looks like someone's hungry!" Then he blew a raspberry on her tummy. "Mmmm . . . and I could eat you all up!"
"Rumple, I'm worried about the Browns," Belle confessed.
Her husband looked up from playing with his daughter, a shrewd glint in his eye. "So you noticed too," he remarked. Then again, it was not surprising because his wife was a very intuitive and smart lady.
"I know they're afraid to ask for help but..."
"Perhaps we could send them an anonymous gift basket?" he suggested.
"Rumple, that's perfect...and gifts for the children!"
"Yes, now we need to find out their ages and sizes and so on." The brown eyes twinkled.
"I'll have to leave that up to you...you're better at it than I am."
"I can ask Henry. He probably goes to school with some of them," Rumple acknowledged.
Belle nodded in agreement. "Or if Evangeline happens to drop by the library I could ask her."
"Yes that would be good. Now let's put these pearls in the case." He handed her the key and a velvet jewelry stand for display.
"Now I put the earrings on each side?"
"Yes, like that, dearie. We want them to be seen," Rumple instructed patiently, as his little dearie began chewing on his tie clip.
"Afterwards...we should do something about their rent."
"I can put them on a hardship pay scale where they get a reduced rate," he answered. "Along with that comes six months of free utilities."
Belle smiled.
Her smile made Rumple feel suffused with contentment and peace. He found that doing things to help out the less fortunate, like he had been once upon a time, made him feel accomplished and fulfilled.
He glanced at his watch. "Shall we take a break for lunch? It's twelve thirty."
"Yes, please!"
He gestured and the sign flipped on the door to CLOSED. And then the door locked. "Okay. Shall we do takeout or have lunch at Granny's?"
"Either way you are getting me a hamburger!"
"Naturally," he chuckled. "And I want a cheeseburger with pickles, crispy onions, lettuce, and extra ketchup. And curly fries."
"Just don't order those fries ON the burger the way I see kids do..." Belle made a face.
Rumple wrinkled his nose. "On it? What kind of crazy idiocy is that?"
"I don't know but it seems to be all the rage now and unhealthy."
"Yes. Although Granny does grill her burgers and I ask her to put ours on whole wheat sesame buns." Gold replied. The burgers were also 85% lean ones, so not as bad as the fast food kind-which he wasn't even sure was real beef.
"After lunch we can go shopping for the gift basket." Belle had some ideas in her mind of what she wanted to include and wanted to make certain she could get them before anyone else did.
"Good idea. Now shall we eat here or do you want to eat there?"
She smiled. "It's been a while since we had a shop picnic."
"Then let me call for delivery," he said, grinning. "This way we can put a blanket on the floor and let Miri lie on it. She's trying to crawl now."
"Oh I cannot wait until she starts to walk...and talk!"
Rumple smiled. "I can remember when Bae started walking. He just stopped crawling one day, sat up and . . .walked to me at my wheel. I nearly fell off it, I was so shocked. My thread was a tangled mess that day but who cared? Milah missed it because she was sleeping off one of her all nighters." He grimaced.
"Why am I not surprised?" Belle scowled. "We are going to experience every special moment in Miri's life together."
"Which is how it should be," he said sincerely. "What do you think will be her first word?"
"Papa or dearie!" Belle giggled. "Shall we wager on it?"
"All right. How much do you wanna bet?" he challenged with a roguish smirk.
"I wasn't thinking of money..."
He lofted an eyebrow. "What other stakes did you have in mind, Belle?"
"Well..." She stroked his hair gently. "I was thinking more along the lines of an enchanted evening..."
And she knew her husband would deliver.
"Ahh . . .with candles and dark chocolate strawberries and champagne?" he teased. "Just the two of us . . .with you in that gold nightie with chipped cups I made for you?" He smiled provocatively.
"With a few layers of course...if I can manage it."
"Well, it did come with a small gold lame robe," he reminded. "And I suppose I can wear my . . .well that's up to you."
She held out her hand." We have a deal Mr. Gold."
He clasped it. "And if you win . . . YOU have a date, Mrs. Gold. With a certain sexy thing!" he winked at her and twitched his hips playfully.
"You can show me those moves tonight."
He bowed over her hand. "As you wish."
Then he pulled out his cell and dialed the number to the diner.
Belle went to the backroom and looked through the cabinet until she found the blanket she wanted. It was one Rumple wove himself with roses and spinning wheels that he kept at the shop in case it was cold or he wanted to take a nap when business was slow.
While his wife got the blanket, Rumple heated up Miri's cereal with peaches in the baby food warmer on the counter, though instead of electricity he used his magic to warm the food. The baby was now eating rice cereal with formula and stirred in fruit as well as taking a bottle.
As Belle was coming out of the backroom she gasped in shock. "Rumple. Look! Look!"
He turned around, the spoon with the peaches in his hand. "What? What's happened?"
Belle pointed to the floor where their small daughter was crawling behind the counter to reach her father. "You're almost there, sweetie! Go to Papa!" she cried.
Rumple gasped with awe and pride. He knelt and called, "C'mere, alanna! Come to Papa!"
He had left her on her small quilt while he went to warm up the food. Apparently, she had grown too impatient to wait. He watched as she slowly pulled herself along, gazing at him determinedly.
He held out his arms, smiling, while tears blurred his eyes. "Belle! Our baby's crawling!"
"I know," she sobbed joyfully. "I know...go to Papa baby..."
Miri paused, her huge eyes wide, and rocked back and forth, as if trying to decide how to proceed. She babbled to her parents, excited and yet a bit scared. It was a LONG way to go to where Rumple was kneeling. She wavered, uncertain.
"Go to Papa," Belle encouraged.
Rumple patted the floor. "Come on, baby girl! You can do it. Come to me, Miri!" he tried to make his voice as encouraging as possible.
He waved the spoon at her. "Look! Peaches! Mmm! Yummy!" he pretended to eat what was on the spoon.
Miri saw and squawked indignantly. Mine! she seemed to be saying. Then she put a hand in front of her and started to crawl again.
"Better hurry, sweetie, before Papa eats it all," Belle giggled.
Miri burbled and continued crawling . . . until she touched Rumple's knee.
"You did it! Yay!" Rumple crowed and clapped while his daughter grabbed his leg to try and sit up. "That's my big girl!"
Belle sat on the floor beside her husband and wiped tears from her eyes, seeing so much of her beloved husband in their precious baby girl who was growing up so quickly.
Giggling, Rumple popped the spoon with the peaches into his baby's open mouth. "Mmm! Good, isn't it? I always loved peaches."
Miri smiled . . . then blew a raspberry at him. Pureed peaches landed all over his Armani.
"Hey! Little imp!" he cried, then he burst into giggles. "Oh dearie dearie dear!" He sighed. "Just because I love peaches doesn't mean I want to wear them!"
"You asked for it!"
Belle was enjoying seeing their daughter behaving just they did when they were children again. "Now I remember you being silly like that when we were kids."
"Me? How about you? You put a meatball down my pants!" he accused, cleaning himself off with a baby wipe.
Just then the shop door was knocked on. "Umm . . .Belle could you get the door? I think lunch is here."
"Helloooooooo!" they heard Ruby call out.
"Just a minute!" Rumple replied, standing up and holding his daughter in one arm while still trying to wipe off peaches from his tie.
Belle opened the door before her husband had a chance to. "Oh Ruby, you missed it! Miri is crawling!" she said breathlessly.
Ruby beamed. "Oh that's wonderful, Belle!" She carried the lunch order in two brown paper bags in her hand. As she came in, she caught sight of Rumple holding Miri. "Well, hello, sweetie!" she cooed to Miri. Then she took a second look at Rumple and burst out laughing. "Lord love a duck, what happened to YOU? You get in a fight with a blender, Rumple?"
"More like Miri!" Belle laughed.
"She learned to crawl and blow raspberries all in one day," Rumple coughed, torn between pride and chagrin.
Then he walked around the counter and set Miri on the floor. "Show Ruby what you can do, little dearie! Go on! Crawl to Mama!"
"Come on, sweetie. You can do it!" Belle encouraged, kneeling down and holding out her arms.
Miri grinned and began to rock back and forth.
She glanced back questioningly at her father, who made shooing motions.
"Go on, Miri! Mama's waiting!" he urged.
Thus encouraged, the baby began to crawl to Belle, going faster now that she knew how to cross the floor.
"That's it...just a little more...come on!"
Ruby held out her phone, capturing the precious moment on video.
Miri's little hand touched Belle's Prada shoe and she beamed up at her mama.
Belle picked her up and held her tightly, covering her small face with kisses.
"Mmma!" Miri laughed and blew kisses back.
"Oh Rumple! I think she said Mama!"
"I don't know, dearie. She seems like she was trying to kiss you," he said, not wanting Belle to lose her deal with him.
He blew a kiss to his daughter, who waved and returned the favor.
"Maybe she's not quite ready to talk yet," Belle murmured.
"Give her time, Belle," Ruby advised. "After all, Rome wasn't built in a day."
"I have a nice little bet to win," she whispered.
"A bet? With who?" Ruby queried, snickering. "Mr. Small, Sexy, Spinner?" She jerked her head back at Rumple.
"Yes. If Miri says Papa or dearie as her first word...I get an enchanted evening with Mr. Sexy Spinner."
"Ooo la la!" sang her friend. "Better go and get your hair and nails done, honey!"
"I just have to wait for my daughter to give me the opportunity."
"I'll watch her for you," offered Ruby generously. "You know I love kids. Especially my little Miranda doll here." She kissed Miri's cheek. "Right, pretty girl?"
Miri blew a raspberry at her and giggled.
"Oh you're daddy's little imp, ain'tcha?" the werewolf snickered. Then she blew one back at the baby.
Ruby played back the video of Miri crawling. "I'll send it to you so you can download it."
"Thank you, dearie. We were both so enthralled we forgot to take pictures," Gold admitted. "Now, how much do I owe you?"
She looked at the slip. "Twenty-one fifteen."
Gold paid her . . .plus a ten dollar tip. "Here. Go get your nails done." He teased.
"The brightest red I can find!" she laughed.
He gave her a wolf whistle in return.
Miri, attempting to mimic him, blew a raspberry instead.
Belle was in stitches. "The two of you are too much!"
Rumple winked at her outrageously. "I'm hungry, so let's eat!"
Page~*~*~*~Break
The kids decided to drop their surprise package off at Sapphira's the next morning before their parents took them to preschool. The parents had gotten together and decided that one of them would pick all of the children up and take them, each parent taking a turn during the week. That day it was Peri's turn to pick everyone up. Killian stuffed the surprise package into his backpack before he met up with his mother in the kitchen.
"I did something different for lunch this time. Now don't be worrying...you can have your meatball sandwich on Friday."
"Yeah cause I havta have my meatballs!"
Emma chuckled and ruffled his hair. "I know you do. How do homemade hot pockets sound?"
"Awesome! Didja make pizza ones?!"
"Yes and I made sure I made a veggie snack for Annie, the one you call Professor."
"Uh-huh cause she's not 'llowed to have anything with wheat in it."
"Be a good boy at school," Bae said.
Killian rolled his eyes. "Dad, m'always good at school 'less those jerks start somethin." He was referring to another group of children who seemed to enjoy harassing Killian and his friends, even going as far as locking them out during recess and Killian had a terrifying encounter with a group of wolves while trailing Sapphira. (A Little Preschool Mishap). Since then Jasmine and Ashley kept a close eye on them to make certain they behaved themselves.
They heard a knock on the door. Killian raced over to open it. "Hey Archie! You here to pick Dad up?"
"Yes. We're going to a conference today. He may be a little late coming home, Emma."
"That's okay, Archie. What's it about?"
"We're going to be talking about bullying and things we can do to help. It's getting out of hand in the schools and online." Archie frowned. Emma nodded in agreement.
"You and Bae might want to talk to the teachers and parents...just a suggestion, Archie."
"We're going to, hon. Maybe the other doctors at this conference can give us ideas."
"Mom, Peri's here!" Killian called out.
"Holy crap, kid! Tone it down a bit. You're not on the ship!" Emma laughed while she walked him out to the van. "Have a good day at school and thanks, Peri!"
"No problem, honey!"
Peri had been at her shop most of the morning arguing with a supplier over a late order while her husband was at home getting Bobby and Annie ready for school. Peri decided to pick the other children up first then drive back to their house to collect her children since the school was closer to where they lived.
Bobby and Annie were waiting in the backyard for their friends.
"Ya got it?" Bobby asked Killian. He nodded.
"Uh-huh. You wanna be lookout while I do it?"
"Hurry up!" Yasmina urged.
Bobby boosted his friend up over the wooden fence that divided Melanie's yard and theirs. The kitchen light was turned off and the door locked. Killian set the surprise package down on the swing and ran back to the fence and climbed back over.
"Okay kids, time to go!" Peri called out.
"We're comin', Mom!"
All afternoon the Nevengers couldn't help picturing the look on their rival's face when she opened her surprise package to find nothing in it thinking it was exactly what she deserved for being so nasty to them and others.
Ruby was more than happy to take care of Miri while her parents did some shopping that afternoon. Neither would say what it was about but she had her suspicions having seen Mr. Gold sneaking out at night over the holidays leaving anonymous gift baskets to those in need. To some people he would always be the Dark One but others were learning there was so much more to him than met the eye especially when they saw him as a child again.
The baskets contained mostly fruits but there were also envelopes inside that contained gift cards to stores where the recipients could purchase food and clothing for themselves and their families, the gift card amounts in the thousands. The Golds spared no expense for the needy of Storybrooke and some of their friends took part in the custom too by sending their own care packages. Peri and Nick also sent care packages overseas since several of Nick's friends were serving in the Middle East.
While they were walking out of the mall they met up with Archie and Selene, Archie's arms loaded with bags while two employees from Babies R Us were carrying boxes. Rumple giggled.
"What did you do, dearies? Buy out the whole store?" he teased.
"Well…ahhh….we wanted to make sure we had everything…" Archie mumbled.
"If you didn't before, you do now."
"Rumple, we left our baskets at the shop," Selene spoke up.
"Good. We'll be sending them out tonight."
"Do you need any help with it?"
"No, Bae and Henry are going to help. You need to be at home with Selene, Archie."
"Rumple, I'm not due until February," Selene laughed.
"I'm not taking any chances honey," Archie said softly. "Thank you Rumple."
Both couples were unaware that Selma Quickly and her companion were listening to their entire conversation….and planning. They knew the Golds often put gift cards in their care baskets and once in while a big check would be included, a check that would allow them to live in the lap of luxury for a while. They didn't need any of the baby junk the Hoppers were buying but they knew the therapist spent lavishly on his limey wife and in-laws. They staked out the wealthiest houses in Storybrooke and discovered that many of them were hiding their Christmas gifts in their vehicles until it was time to wrap them. Fortunately they knew how to pick trunk locks and disable vehicle alarms. They waited until after midnight before they made their move and since it was not small job, they had to bring in a few friends who were more than happy to remind them that they had to hand over a portion of what they took.
Their first stop was the pawn shop. It was risky, there was no doubt in any of their minds that old man Gold had the place wired…and probably warded.
"You go first," Selma said, shoving one of their cohorts toward the door.
"Get outta here! He's probably got one of those pendulum things that's gonna cut my head off soon as I open the goddam door!"
Selma snorted. "Gold's gone soft because of that librarian he's married to…now get over there!"
The man gulped and took his lock picks out of his bag. The moment he inserted them into the doorknob, an electric charge surged through his body. The others watched with amusement while he wriggled like a worm on a hook. The device was not set to kill or even cause serious physical injury but Rumple knew how to teach thieves a lesson without having to resort to murder. He fell to the ground a few minutes later, his clothes and hair smoking.
"Now what? I'm not getting my ass fried!"
"Why don'cha break the window?"
Three pairs of eyes glared daggers at the speaker.
"Oh yeah….and why don't we go down to the sheriff's office and say 'Hey we're tryin' to break in Gold's shop. You wanna give us a hand?' Your name should be Dumbass instead of Duane!"
Selma rolled her eyes. "Will you idiots stop shooting your mouths off and figure out a way in this damned place!"
"Is there a back door?" one asked.
"Yeah but betcha it's got that 'lectric thing on it too!"
"Maybe we oughta try a window?"
"I don't care if you crawl in through a damn kitty door, just get in there!" Selma snarled.
"Who knows how to deal with magic wards?" grumbled another. "Not me. I stayed away from wizards back in the old country."
Frustrated, Selma grabbed the tool bag and threw it at the shop's front window.
The bag bounced off the glass and dropped to the ground. "Guess that's out!"
"We need something that cancels out magic . . . but what?"
"A stick of dynamite?"
Selma was at her wit's end and cursing Cedric Brown and his brats for putting her in this predicament.
"Nah. Then the whole town will come running."
"And we don't exactly have a magic cancelling five and dime around here, do we?" Selma demanded of her cohorts?"
"What about we use someone as a Trojan Horse?"
Selma was beginning to like that idea. "Okay, how? Gold isn't stupid."
"There's always some desperate kid or someone who needs help this time of year. We can make sure they don't talk by threatening to kill them or their family . . . and they can case the place for us and maybe Gold will take pity on them and dismantle the wards for 'em."
Selma grinned. She knew just the desperate people.
"Then they get the loot and give it to us and we let them take the fall if necessary."
"Looks like I may be able to get even with that idiot Cedric after all."
She heard through the grapevine that both he and Evangeline lost their jobs and both were too proud to ask Lady Stitch for help. But...if their little brats were threatened, they would be more agreeable to the group's plans.
"Why don't we go back to the hideout and discuss things?" suggested one, shivering in the cold Maine air.
"Fine by me but the sooner we move on this, the better,' Selma muttered. The crew got in their van and drove off.