A/N: A little one-shot, I thought. It'll be simple, I thought. Nope. I was playing with my music and came across a song. This idea came up and I thought 'Oh I'll just write it quick and move on'. Four hours and over three thousand words later, I'm finally done. Anyway, enjoy!
Belle sighed as she stared at the phone. One year ago, she'd left Storybrooke. The curse had broken and at first she'd thought she loved Rumpelstiltskin. She'd held him, loved him, made love to him, even. But he'd brought back magic, brought it back and again fallen to the Dark One, but this time with more gusto. When'd next seen her, he'd been near dead with drink and barely remembered who she was. And it was that night that she'd left. He'd called the cell phone he'd bought her over and over until Belle had thrown it into a lake. A year later, she'd gotten a new one, same number. He hadn't tried it once, not that she'd expected him to. But now, as she looked over to her three-month-old baby girl, she knew she had to call him. Sometime soon. As she'd watched her daughter, their daughter, grow up, she realized that he'd already missed too much. And that was how she'd reached this point, phone held in hand and biting her lip. With trembling fingers, she dialed his shop number. It was eleven o'clock that night and she was pleased when the machine picked up, just like she'd expected. The Scottish burr she'd missed for so long rang in her ears,
"Thanks very much for the message, dearie. If you're calling to make a deal, I'll get back to you whenever I please. If there's anything else, leave a message. And if this is my Caretaker… I have a teacup with your name on it." The phone clattered to the floor. The teacup… he remembered? He still had it? She'd known he'd missed her, but she hadn't expected him to keep some broken dish. He'd brought it with him from the old world, even. That felt… strangely good.
When she'd left, Belle had hoped so desperately that she'd be over him. She'd hoped to forget him forever, never go back to that world that'd held her captive. But when she'd started throwing up and missed her cycle… Belle knew she could never forget. She could push her dear Rumpelstiltskin to the back of her mind, but she'd never be able to forget him. Not when she looked at her darling baby and saw his grin on her face. Said infant awakened at that moment and looked at her mother, a certain mischievous look in her eye that again reminded Belle of her baby's father. She picked up the phone and put it back in its cradle. Shaking her head, she walked over and picked up her baby, pushing all thoughts of castles and teacups from her mind.
It had been a week since she'd called. One week. Belle had doubts that he'd have changed his message in the last week, but once she'd heard his voice she had to hear it again. The message played,
"Don't leave a message. I'm not dealing today. And if this is my Caretaker… I have a teacup with your name on it." The machine beeped and Belle immediately hung up. Why he wouldn't be dealing…Oh, she thought. Today was exactly the first anniversary of her leaving him. She didn't realize he'd remember. She hung up the phone and quickly left, buckling her daughter into the car as she went to work at the local preschool.
Two days later, Belle was almost shaking with the effort. She'd tried so hard not to call and listen again. She'd tried, she really had. But each time the phone rang, her heart leaped into her throat as she hoped to hear his voice. Irrational, yes, but she still hoped. And again her fingers confidently dialed the number. Before the machine even picked up, her baby girl started wailing. Belle grabbed the phone and ran up to her daughter's room, hoping to calm the girl before the machine picked up. Her daughter had awoken from her sleep. Belle picked the girl from her cradle and held her close, cooing and singing a lullaby as the girl's eyes slowly closed. It was only when she lay her baby back down that Belle realized the phone had been recording her the entire time. She picked it up hastily,
"Um… hello. I'm so terribly to have bothered you. You actually weren't meant to hear any of that, really. Our daughter was just—shit. Good day, Rumpelstiltskin." She hung up in a hurry and let out a shuddering breath. She hadn't intended to reveal his part in her having a baby. He'd have recognized the song. He'd hate her for sharing it. He'd hated her for a while now and would continue to hate her even more, probably. Now Belle could only wait to see what he did. Hopefully he wouldn't be too mad.
The next morning, Rumpelstiltskin walked in and unlocked his pawnshop. No one bought from him now and they hadn't before the curse, but the building was a nice way to remind the world that he was here, still waiting to make a deal. As he walked up to his counter, he saw his answering machine was beeping. No one had called in a long time, except for the occasional hang-up that never failed to pique his curiosity. He hit play, surprised to hear muffled sounds of an infant's wailing and then a woman singing. He was about to delete it when he recognized the voice. His hand froze as he listened,
"No…darling, don't cry. Mummy'll make it better. Shush…
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li,
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, hush now, don't you cry;
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, Too-ra-loo-ra-li,
Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral, that's an Irish lullaby."
She repeated the lyrics over and over until the wailing had quieted and then a few more times to be sure. Even listening, Rumpelstiltskin was pulled back to memories of late nights and warm arms. Belle… he thought. Belle was singing his lullaby, their lullaby. The lullaby he'd sung to Bae, the lullaby he'd sung to her when she awoke screaming from a nightmare. And by the sound of it, she was singing it to a baby. He could almost hear her surprise when she realized the phone was still on. She left her message. 'Our daughter' stopped him dead. Armageddon could have rolled around the corner and he wouldn't have noticed. No, it's not possible. She must have found someone and had a baby with him. There's someone else involved in her 'our'. Not possible in the least. But he knew it was possible. They'd gotten carried away that first night, completely forgotten about protection. He'd needed her and she'd needed him. But surely, surely she would have found someone else involved in her 'our'. He pushed the thought from his mind, but deep down in the part that was still a man, he knew it was possible and entirely probable. And that thought scared him more than anything.
A very large part of him, the part who was a coward, wanted to hide in his foxhole and ignore the message. And yet… he still missed Bae, missed him every day. There was another baby out there, too young to know he should be there. A baby girl who needed him. Maybe not today, but someday she would. And he'd be damned if he was about to miss out on raising another child. With confident fingers, he dialed the numbers Caller ID said she'd be at. The phone rang on and on until her machine picked up,
"Hello, this is Belle! Leave a message at the beep and I'll get back to you soon. And to Mr. Gold: I miss you." Rumpelstiltskin dropped his phone. It was not his name, but she could hardly leave a message for Rumpelstiltskin. She missed him? The machine beeped and Rumpelstiltskin cleared his throat,
"The place is filthy. I need a housekeeper. Know any suggestions?" He hung up. If Belle was interested, she'd call. If she wasn't, she wouldn't. Simple as that. As he tried to push it from his mind, that part at the very bottom of his mind again whispered that she could return with a baby he wouldn't be trading for.
Across the nation, Belle listened to his message. She'd known it was him calling, hoped he would have a message. And she listened to his voice. His words said one thing, his voice something else entirely. 'I miss you. I love you. Please come back. I'm falling apart.' That's what she heard in his tone. He sounded sick, almost. Rumpelstiltskin was never sick. In that moment, Belle squared her shoulders. Do the brave thing and bravery will follow… She called into work and quit. Packing a bag for her and her baby, she hopped into her car, buckled in her daughter, and sped off for Storybrooke, Maine.
It was three in the morning when she arrived. She'd left early in the morning and had stopped only for gas. She pulled into Storybrooke and straight to Rumpelstiltskin's house. Jumping out, she held her baby in her arms and knocked on the man's door. And rang the bell. And knocked some more. It was almost ten minutes before he answered the door. He'd changed. His scaly skin was more the color it'd been when he was Mr. Gold, his hair calmer. And he had a scruffy beard. Even in her nervous anger, Belle wanted to rub her cheek against it. Then she met his bleary eyes. He stared at her, all the sleep falling away as he tried to take her in. Just like he had a year ago, he grabbed her shoulder.
"I'm real." She whispered to him. Tears glistened in his eyes and he held her tight to him. He would have crushed her to him if her arms holding the baby hadn't stopped him. He stepped back and looked down at the sleeping bundle. He stared at the baby and Belle smiled gently at his expression.
"What's her name?" he whispered. Belle gulped then, holding her baby tighter to her. She knew the power of names. She'd read the fairy tale stories the rest of the world had and she knew Rumpelstiltskin was no stranger to a name's power.
"She doesn't have one." Said Belle. He looked up at her and Belle quickly explained, "There's one on the certificate so they'd let me take her out of the hospital, but I don't use it. She's just dearie, baby girl. Sweetheart."
"So she's no one." He whispered. Belle's brow furrowed at that,
"She's someone. I just want her to know who she is before we do." That part was a lie. She hadn't named her daughter because she hadn't felt quite right doing it without the baby's father having input. She just couldn't cut him out so completely, try as she might have. Rumpelstiltskin put a hand on the girl's head. He felt her life, could feel the girl's personality even at such a young age. Strong, independent. She'd grow to be a fine woman.
"Who the father?" he whispered. The thought had haunted him since he'd heard her message. Who had touched his Belle? Had she been willing? If someone had hurt her, he'd—
"You are." The words wiped clean his thoughts.
"I'm what?" he asked. He hadn't heard those words. He couldn't have. But Belle gave him a ghost of the wry smile she'd always given him when he was being an idiot,
"You are her father." Rumpelstiltskin stared at her. She couldn't… He hadn't… Belle smiled at his apparent loss for words. Swallowing her desire to take her baby and run into the night, she shifted her daughter in her arms, "Would you like to hold her?" His arms mimicked the set of hers before he even registered what she'd said. Belle gently placed her daughter in the cradle of his arms. He instinctively pulled the baby close to his chest and the warmth of the infant sent a peculiar feeling through him. He needed to protect this baby, keep her safe and love her. Just then, the girl's eyes opened. They were Belle's down to the little purple streaks that ran through them. Her eyes, his hair. The girl smiled and it seemed strangely familiar. He looked up at Belle,
"Will she start screaming?"
"No, she'll be fine. She wakes up now and again. She'll be out in a minute or two." Rumpelstiltskin looked down at his girl. His daughter. His daughter with no name.
"Anna. Her name is Anna." He said.
"Anna…" repeated Belle, rolling the name around on her tongue. It sounded right. Fit her girl well.
"You didn't tell me." Said Rumpelstiltskin quietly. The only thing to betray his anger was the way his hold on little Anna tightened. Belle had known this was coming.
"I thought…" she squared her shoulders and looked Rumpelstiltskin in the eye. "I thought you'd take her away from me." Tears glistened in the Belle's eyes. She knew now that he wouldn't have done such a thing, but she was never sure about the man she knew and the man he'd become. She'd take what he said. If he banished her…well, it wouldn't be the first time.
"I wouldn't take her, you silly woman. I'd just ask to know my daughter!" His voice was rising now, not mindful of the no-longer-sleeping baby in his arms, "YOU HAD NO RIGHT TO DO THAT! YOU CAN'T JUST TAKE—" He was cut off by the loud wail of Anna. He jumped and nearly dropped her before Belle snatched her from his arms and held Anna close, saying softly,
"I know, my sweetheart, my little Anna. Daddy's being such an incredible…fool. But shush, my Anna. Shush…" And again she began singing 'Too-ra-loo-ra-loo-ral,' her soft voice calming Anna. Daddy…
Bae had never called him that. Back at that time, it was 'Father'. But to have his little girl call him Daddy as she ran in the door from school, when she kissed him on the cheek when he'd give her away at the altar… Rumpelstiltskin realized that he'd messed up again. In the year that Belle had been gone, he'd realized that he missed her even more now he knew she was alive. No matter what the foolish woman had done, he wasn't about to let her go again. And if he wanted to keep her, he knew he had to show he was willing to change for their baby Anna. By the second time Belle sang the chorus, he joined in and let his strong Scottish voice blend with hers and send their baby girl to sleep. Belle looked up at him and whispered,
"Is there somewhere I can put her while we talk?" It was then that Rumpelstiltskin realized that they'd been standing on his front stoop. He ushered them in, closing the door behind them. He magicked together a cradle for little Anna and set it beside a chair in his living room. Belle immediately sat down beside her daughter and Rumpelstiltskin took the chair opposite her. Belle rocked Anna a little before turning to him,
"I'm sorry. For everything. I was afraid…"
"Afraid of the beast?" he said harshly. Belle covered his hand with hers,
"No. Afraid of the man. Afraid of a man desperate for power he couldn't control." She said. Rumpelstiltskin tilted his head at that. He'd never heard it put that way. He was a monster. Always had been, always would be.
"You're not a monster." Said Belle as if reading his thoughts, "Look at you. The Dark part of you is receding. It's almost gone."
"Yes it is." He said neutrally. Belle swallowed to wet her throat,
"There is one way to remove it forever." she whispered. Rumpelstiltskin laughed quietly at that,
"Yes. True Love's Kiss." He said scathingly. Belle smiled and reached over,
"But don't you realize? In the Dark Castle, all those years ago, it was working. This is True Love. And a kiss…" she trailed off. Everything in her wanted to lean in and prove just what a kiss could do but she stopped herself. Rumpelstiltskin had to want this. She couldn't force her cure on him.
"But what if I don't want the cure?" he said quietly, almost questioning himself. He turned to her, the maniacal glint back in his eyes, "What if I want to stay powerful forever? Keep my magic?" Belle sat back in her chair, eyes cold.
"Then you must choose if you want your fading magic or a wife and daughter." Her tone would brook no compromise. There would be no deal-making with her. A wife… He hadn't had a wife since Bae's mother. Even she and her 'love' paled in comparison to Belle's love. And to think his Belle was willing to wed a monster.
"And, hypothetically speaking, if I were to choose a wife and daughter…"
"Then I'd kiss you and you'd kiss me and your spell would be broken. You'd be an ordinary man again. But no man is ordinary with True Love on his side." She said, smiling at the end. Rumpelstiltskin nodded, lost in thought. True Love was the most powerful magic he'd ever known. It broke all spells. If he were to choose Belle and Anna, he wouldn't be giving up magic. He'd be trading up. His magic was easily broken if people truly loved each other. If he quit making deals, they'd still be well-off. It seemed he'd done nothing but spin for the past year and gold thread was piled around his house in heaps. And he could still make deals if he felt like it. He still had wealth, and with wealth came influence. There was no way to lose.
"I choose a wife and daughter." He whispered. Belle leaned over,
"I'm sorry, what was that?" she asked. He looked at her and proclaimed proudly,
"I choose my wife and my daughter." He pulled her over to him, holding her close and whispering in her ear, "You are mine." Belle looked up and kissed him soundly. He felt the change spread through him, lips to his feet and back up until his every cell felt afire with True Love. When she pulled back, Belle grinned,
"And you are mine, Rumpelstiltskin. My man." She held his fingers up. Pink, fleshy fingers. Soft fingers. He stared in wonder. He felt his face. There were no scales. His hair was soft, no longer coarse and wild as it had been before. And something inside had changed. The Dark One that kept whispering in his soul was gone. The voice was silent as never before, not even when they'd been in a land without magic. The Dark One was truly gone and had been replaced with True Love. He held Belle and picked up Anna, cradling her in the crook of his arm.
"So I have for me a wife and daughter. What do we do now?" he said, delighting in how strangely human his voice was. Belle smiled,
"Aren't you putting the cart before the horse there?" she said. Rumpelstiltskin looked at her, confused. Belle held up her empty left hand, "A wife before a fiancée? Surely things haven't changed so much since I was gone." She said with a soft giggle. Rumpelstiltskin kissed her again,
"So they haven't. Belle my darling, my dearie and caretaker, will you marry me?" A ring appeared in his hand, silver with a ruby in the middle. He slipped it on the appropriate finger and it fit perfectly. Belle looked at him with shining eyes,
"Yes Rumpelstiltskin. I will marry you; I will be your wife." He kissed her triumphantly and knew in that moment, all his justification had been for naught. He may have needed to convince himself then, but now he knew he hadn't kept her for the 'higher magic' or anything so nonsensical. He'd kept her and Anna because he loved them both with all his heart and wanted them with him forever. No deals made, no properties exchanged. It was True Love, pure and simple and overwhelming. And this, dear reader, proves the oldest saying in time: True Love conquers all.