Disclaimer – I own nothing of Once Upon A Time or the character of Rapunzel. They belong to their respected owners. I own my original characters and the plot. 'Nuff said.
Italics are thoughts and flashbacks.
A/N: I was watching Once Upon A Time last week and noticed that they haven't talked about Rapunzel at all. Here she is, making her own special appearance. MY FIRST ONCE UPON A TIME STORY, SO BE NICE, PLEASE.
Summary: AU: There's a new girl in Storybrooke. She works at the beauty salon, Let Your Hair Down. She's also keeping a secret. Rapunzel/Rebecca and Rumpelstiltskin/Mr. Gold story. If you squint and tilt your head to one side, it could also be an OC x OC story. One-Shot. Rated T because I'm paranoid. MY FIRST ONCE UPON A TIME STORY, SO BE NICE, PLEASE.
Genre: Drama/None
Rating: T
Rebecca Dover glanced in the rearview mirror at her two-year-old daughter, Raina. Raina was fast asleep, which Rebecca was grateful for. Ever since she started the trip to Storybrooke, Raina had been fussy and crying all the time.
Rebecca pulled the car into the parking lot of Let Your Hair Down, the local beauty salon where she would be working to support herself and Raina.
Rebecca took a minute to look at herself in the rearview mirror. She brushed her shoulder-length blond hair with light blue, hot pink, bright purple and light orange in it behind her ears and applied some lip balm on her lips. She then adjusted the eyebrow piercing above her right eye. She had hazel eyes with a hint of gray in them.
"Come on, Raina. Let's go pretty girl." Rebecca crooned to her daughter. Unlike Rebecca, Raina had dark brown curls and hazel eyes. Rebecca picked up the baby in her arms and headed into Let Your Hair Down.
"Hello! You must be Rebecca. I'm Mrs. Flynn, the owner of Let Your Hair Down. We do offer child care, so if you want to bring – I'm sorry, I didn't catch your daughter's name."
"Raina."
"If you want to bring Raina here, you're more than welcome to. The stylists get an hour break for bathroom and food. Your shift goes from anywhere to an hour to three hours. Pay is $3.75 an hour. You'll get your check the first of the month. Would you like to start today?"
Rebecca nodded. Mrs. Flynn smiled and indicated to where the child care was. Rebecca left Raina with the child care provider and went to her assigned chair. It was third from the door and gave her a good view of who would be coming to her.
Rebecca took a moment to get to know the other stylists – June, Anne, Lara, Tim, Ashley, Mary and Sara. All of them got along right away and Rebecca hoped that they would be friends.
"So, Rebecca, what got you interested in styling?" Sara asked as she tended to her customer – a woman named Mary-Margaret.
"I was pregnant and needed a way to provide for myself and my baby. Beauty school paid the bills and it's what I enjoyed." Rebecca explained.
"How old are you, if you don't mind me asking." Sara said.
"Eighteen. I was raped two years ago and I love my daughter more than anything else in this world." Rebecca answered, her tone ice cold. She didn't like to talk about her personal life much.
"What do your parents think about you living here?" Sara inquired, changing the subject slightly.
"They died when I was three. I was put in foster home after foster home until two months ago when I turned eighteen." Rebecca told the other girl.
Just then, the bell above the door chimed and a man entered the salon.
"Afternoon, Mr. Gold. What can I do for you?" Mrs. Flynn asked, motioning for Rebecca to get her station ready. Her first customer of the day and she wanted to make a good impression on him.
"Oh, the usual, Mrs. Flynn." Mr. Gold answered, looking at Rebecca. "Could she do it?"
"Rebecca? Of course, she could." Mrs. Flynn told Mr. Gold.
Rebecca smiled as Mr. Gold sat at her station. She placed a black cape with Let Your Hair Down embroidered on it in silver letters.
"What can I do for you, Mr. Gold?" Rebecca inquired, pumping the chair so that he was at chest height.
"Just a trim, please." He told her in a thin accent. Rebecca couldn't tell if it was Scottish or Irish. She brushed his hair out and felt a power surge. She closed her eyes for a moment – remembering this man from her past.
Rapunzel sighed as she looked out her tower window. It was a gloomy day and her prince – Jonathon – was on his way to see her.
"Looking gloomy like the day outside are we?" a creaky voice questioned. Rapunzel turned around and saw Rumpelstiltskin standing behind her.
"How did you get up here?" Rapunzel questioned. She felt Rumpelstiltskin wrap his arms around her and pull her close. She could smell his putrid breath on her skin.
"Magic, my dear." Rumpelstiltskin chortled.
"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!" a familiar voice called. Rapunzel broke out of Rumpelstiltskin's grasp and unbraided her hair. Seventy feet of hair cascaded down the side of the tower like a waterfall.
"Oh, Jonathon! You finally came!" Rapunzel called, glancing down the flowing waterfall of blond hair. She didn't see Rumpelstiltskin sneak up behind her and snip her hair, just above her shoulders. Rapunzel heard Rumpelstiltskin giggle with delight as they watched Jonathon tumble to his death. His horse reared up and fled, tail flying behind him like a brown banner. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" Rapunzel yelled at Rumpelstiltskin.
"Saved you from a terrible fate." He giggled.
"Bring him back!" Rapunzel screamed.
"I will for a price, dearie." Rumpelstiltskin told her.
"I will do anything." Rapunzel pleaded. Rumpelstiltskin grinned broadly at the young girl. He thought her to be sixteen or seventeen – perfect.
"Anything? Even the unthinkable?" He inquired.
"What are you talking about?"
"Spend one night with me – we'll have dinner and drink delicious mead I make myself."
"All to get my true love back?"
Rumpelstiltskin nodded, his smile growing wider than ever before.
Rebecca shook herself out of her daydream and continued cutting Mr. Gold's hair. He smiled and dropped two dollars in her tip jar – her first tip of the day.
"Thank you, Mr. Gold." Rebecca thanked him.
"You're welcome, my dear. Enjoy your stay in Storybrooke."
"I will. Thanks."
At the end of her shift, Rebecca had collected five dollars and seventy five cents in gathered her tips and took off her apron, hanging it on the hook above her mirror. She then went to the child care room and collected Raina. She was fast asleep, her thumb in her mouth.
Rebecca carried Raina to the car and put her in the carseat before heading out of the parking lot and to the boarding house on the edge of town.
Before long, she and Raina were settled in their room on the third floor. Rebecca made a mental note for tomorrow to get a crib for Raina.
Rebecca took a quick shower and was getting settled when there was a gentle knock on the door. Rebecca quickly put on her pajamas and went to answer the door. On the other side of the door was Ruby with a plate of cookies.
"Granny just made some double chocolate chip cookies. Would you want one?" Ruby inquired. Rebecca smiled and took a cookie. "Granny would also like to let you know that breakfast is at eight o'clock and is served until ten."
"Thanks, Ruby." Rebecca thanked the other girl. Ruby smirked and closed the door. Rebecca went back to her bed and turned on the TV down low to the news.
Around 3:00 in the morning, Raina started her crying. Rebecca got up and tended to Raina, singing her a lullaby she had made up herself called Fairy Tales. It worked every night, but not tonight.
"Raina, shh. Baby, it's okay." Rebecca soothed, taking Raina out of the room and walked down the three flights of stairs. She hoped to make a bottle of warm milk for Raina – that was one of the only things that would help her.
"Can I help you?" a small voice asked. Rebecca smiled when she saw Mary-Margaret sitting at a table, drinking tea. "I can't sleep and I would love to help you."
"Sure. Can you hold her while I make a bottle? I know that Ashley makes some extra and she told me where she stores them. Her name is Raina and I'm Rebecca." Rebecca introduced herself, rather hurriedly.
"Shh, Raina. It's okay." Mary-Margaret soothed as Rebecca quickly made a bottle and carefully took Raina from Mary-Margaret. Raina stopped her fussing as Rebecca fed her.
"How old is she?" Mary-Margaret inquired, watching Rebecca walk around the room with Raina.
"She just turned two on Thursday." Rebecca answered, handing Raina back to Mary-Margaret so that she could wash out the bottle.
"And how old are you, if you don't mind me asking." Mary-Margaret said, walking up the stairs with Rebecca and Raina.
"I'm eighteen." Rebecca answered. "Thank you for helping me tonight."
"You're welcome, Rebecca." Mary-Margaret told the other girl, watching her walk to the third floor and walk to her bedroom.
Once Raina was down for the night, Rebecca decided she needed some shut-eye. Once her head hit the pillow, she was out for the night. Raina slept like a rock, which Rebecca was grateful for.
Rebecca had the dream again – she remembered being with Rumpelstiltskin – there was something about him that gave her an uneasy feeling. When she was with Mr. Gold, however, he had a calming effect over her.
"What's the matter, dearie?" he asked, sitting next to her on the couch. They had finished dinner and were sipping honey mead – Rapunzel's favorite and apparently, it was Rumpelstiltskin's as well.
"Why did you cut my hair and kill my true love?" Rapunzel inquired. Rumpelstiltskin put his wine glass down and took Rapunzel's hand in his.
"I told you, dearie, it's for your own good." He explained, getting off the couch and motioned for Rapunzel to follow him. They walked down a corridor and entered a large bedroom. "Did I ever tell you how beautiful you are?"
Rapunzel felt herself blush as Rumpelstiltskin removed his tunic and got under the covers. Rapunzel walked over to Rumpelstiltskin and felt him climb on top of her. He untied her dress and removed it, kissing her all the while.
"Do you mind if I unclothe you completely?" Rumpelstiltskin inquired. Rapunzel shook her head and quickly got out of bed so she could remove her dress completely. Rumpelstiltskin licked his lips as Rapunzel climbed back into bed.
They didn't talk much after that. Rapunzel had gotten used to his horrid smell and enjoyed him touching her. She felt him go between her legs and feel around. She moaned loudly and he took that as his cue to go faster. Her heart was beating fast in her chest and he seemed to hear it.
"Enjoying that, are we?" he purred. Rapunzel nodded and moaned with pleasure as he kissed her breasts, gently squeezing the nipple and brought one at a time to his mouth.
They rested for an hour, well Rapunzel did. Rumpelstiltskin ran his hands all over her body, enjoying every inch of her skin. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever slept with. She was kind, beautiful and gentle. He hoped one day to be like her.
It was six months before he saw her again. She had a slight bulge in her stomach and wore slightly bigger dresses. She also wore her hair up a lot and she also looked tired most of the time.
"I have your devil child growing inside of me!" she spat at him. "I want my end of the deal – NOW!"
"Temper, temper, dearie!" He told Rapunzel.
"No, I will NOT control my temper! You said that if I did the unmentionable with you, that you would uphold your end of the deal. That was to bring back my beloved – do you remember that?"
"Very well."
"So, why don't you do it?"
"You must sleep with me one more time!"
"No!"
He dragged her into the bedroom and threw her on the bed. He tore off her dress and kissed her neck. She would not give up without a fight. His hands groped for her breasts – they were fuller than before. His hands traveled down her body so that he was holding her in his arms. He entered her, holding her hands with one hand while massaging her belly with the other.
"GET OFF OF ME!" Rapunzel screamed.
"I'm almost done." Rumpelstiltskin told her, gently pulling out five minutes later.
Rapunzel felt dirty after he had finished with her. She felt like trash and Jonathon didn't want to be with trash, that is, if she ever saw him again.
Rebecca sat up in bed and looked at the clock next to her bed. The green numbers read that it was 4:45 AM. She looked at Raina and saw that the baby was fast asleep on the bed next to hers. She smiled and went back to bed.
Three months later, she was in bed, screaming in pain. Doc was at her front, encouraging her through the horrible pain she was in.
"I cannot do this anymore!" Rapunzel yelled.
"Yes, you can, 'Punzel. I have faith in you." Doc told the young girl.
It wasn't until she heard his soothing voice that made her delivery easier. She felt his hand on hers and felt him squeeze it. Looking up, she saw Jonathon smiling down at her.
"You're almost done, 'Punzel." Jonathon's soothing voice filled Rapunzel's ears like a peaceful song.
An hour later, Rapunzel held her new baby – a girl – in her arms. She had dark hair like Jonathon and sky-blue eyes. She was going to be beautiful.
"What are you going to call her?" Doc asked as he cut the cord and wrapped the baby in a pink blanket.
Rapunzel looked down at the baby's face and smiled.
"Her name is Rachel." Rapunzel announced. Doc and Jonathon smiled broadly.
"I'll leave you two alone." Doc told the happy couple as he gathered his things and exited the room. Jonathon sat upon the chair next to Rapunzel's bed and smiled at her.
"You'll hate me for what I'm about to tell you." Rapunzel started, tears forming in her ice-blue eyes.
"What are you talking about, 'Punzel?" Jonathon inquired, his green eyes upon hers.
"Rachel's not yours – she's Rumpelstiltskin's – he made me sleep with him in order to bring you back." Rapunzel explained, feeling the tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Why would you sleep with him? He's a monster!" Jonathon exclaimed, waking Rachel up. Rapunzel soothed the baby as she watched the handsome prince pace the length of the bed chamber.
"It's not like I had a choice. Do you want to be together?"
"Of course I do. I just don't like that you slept with – him."
"Do you hate me for it?"
"I don't hate you for it, but now I feel like he's going to get rid of me so the three of you can be together."
"No – he didn't say that, Jonathon. He said that if I slept with him, he would bring you back and both of us could live out the rest of our days at each other's sides."
"That's not what I said, dearie." A very familiar creaky voice spoke up. Rapunzel looked up to see Jonathon slowly turning into Rumpelstiltskin.
"You tricked and lied to me!"
"Unfortunately, it's part of the job."
"You're a monster!"
"That's a name I haven't heard before." Rumpelstiltskin replied, his tone sarcastic. He made his way over to where Rapunzel laid on the bed, a small bundle in her arms.
"Don't you dare touch her!" Rapunzel growled.
"What did you name her?"
"Rachel."
Rumpelstiltskin ran a hand though his greasy hair as a huge grin spread across his face.
"You know she's mine, don't you?"
"No, she's not. It wasn't part of the deal."
It was then that Rebecca woke up with a start, maybe it was because Raina was crying. Rebecca got out of bed and picked up her fussing baby. She then sat down on the bed and unfastened her night shirt when there was a soft knock on the door.
"Who is it?" Rebecca asked.
"It's Mr. Gold. May I come in?"
"Um, I'm kind of busy right now – could you come back in ten minutes?"
"I'm kind of in a bit of a hurry."
Rebecca rolled her eyes and buttoned back up her night shirt before going to answer the door.
"What can I do for you, Mr. Gold?" Rebecca inquired.
"May I ask you a few questions?"
"Am I in trouble?"
"Of course not. Firstly, where are you from?"
"I was born in Boston, but raised not too far from here."
"Where are your parents?"
"Six feet under – they died a long time ago. I was then placed in the foster care system until a couple months ago."
"Who's the father of your baby?"
That question caught Rebecca off-guard.
"I don't know. I was raped and never saw his face."
"Do you love her?"
"Of course I do. What idiotic question is that?"
"It's just that most mothers of rape babies don't want them."
"That's idiotic."
Rebecca took a moment to adjust Raina's positioning in her arms before turning back to Mr. Gold.
"May I?" Mr. Gold asked, motioning to Raina.
"Usually, I would say yes, but she's been fussy lately."
"Have you tried putting her on a dryer? Sometimes that helps."
Rebecca shot him an odd look.
"You have children?"
"I had a son, but he died a long time ago."
"I'm sorry to hear that."
Mr. Gold and Rebecca spent some more time together before he had to go.
"Forgive my asking, but are you free tonight for dinner?"
"I need to find a sitter for Raina." Rebecca answered.
Mr. Gold nodded and exited the room. Rebecca heard him go down the stairs and exit the boarding house.
Unfortunately, Raina got sick that night, so Rebecca and Mr. Gold couldn't meet for dinner.
Rebecca never left Raina's side that night – she feared the worse for her daughter.
Rapunzel didn't get any sleep that night – Rachel kept waking Rapunzel up every few hours to be changed, sung to, fed or held.
"Here, let me help." A familiar voice told Rapunzel. She looked over her shoulder and saw Jonathon come into the room.
"Thank goodness you're here! She won't stop crying!" Rapunzel told Jonathon. He carefully took the baby out of Rapunzel's arms and held her against his chest.
"Shh, shh. Rachel, shh. It's okay. You're okay, sweetheart. It's going to be okay." Jonathon soothed his crying daughter. She seemed to be calming down a little bit, so Jonathon kept walking her around the room. Rapunzel fell back asleep, letting her beloved bond with her daughter.
"Hey. Just heard the news. Congratulations." Prince James whispered, coming into the room. Jonathon looked up from rocking Rachel and smiled at his best friend.
"Where's Snow?" Jonathon inquired.
"Still recovering. We had a daughter, too. Named her Emma. What did you name this beauty?" James questioned, looking at Rachel, fast asleep.
"We named her Rachel." Jonathon answered.
"Such a beauty. I've got to go. Give my best to Rapunzel." James said. Jonathon nodded and promised he would.
Rebecca opened her eyes and jolted awake. Looking over at Raina, she saw that the little girl was fast asleep. The illness – or whatever she had – was constantly getting better.
"Honey, can I run you a bath?" Rebecca asked Raina. Raina nodded sleepily and Rebecca carried her to the bathroom.
Rebecca turned on the water to warm and filled the tub half-way. She then took off Raina's pajamas and put her in the tub.
As her little girl took her bath, Rebecca continued reading from the book she had borrowed from the library. It was about two dogs – Lucy and Grant – who were on an incredible journey.
An hour later, Raina decided she had enough of the story and was ready for bed. Rebecca towel dried her daughter, put her pajamas on and helped her brush her teeth.
"Mommy, I want stuffed animal." Raina whispered to Rebecca.
"Tomorrow's my day off, so we'll go to the toy store, okay?"
Raina nodded sleepily and closed her eyes. Rebecca smiled and also closed her eyes, ready for a good night's sleep.
The following day, Rebecca and Raina had breakfast then ventured to the toy store, talking about what sort of stuffed animal Raina wanted.
"Ducky!" Raina squealed as she picked up a duck stuffed animal that was the same size she was. The duck was bright yellow and wore pink rain boots on its feet. It also had a pink beak and eyes.
"Are you sure this is the ducky you want?" Rebecca asked her daughter. Raina nodded excitedly. Rebecca smiled and carried the ducky to check-out, Raina talking about what she was going to name her ducky.
"What a cutie!" the boy behind the register told Rebecca. He had brown hair, green eyes and was three inches taller than she was. He wore khakis cut-off at the knee and a green T-shirt under his blue work vest.
"Thanks. Her name is Raina and I'm Rebecca." Rebecca introduced herself.
"I'm Josh." The boy – Josh – introduced himself. Rebecca smiled and handed Josh the exact change for the duck toy.
"What are you going to name your ducky?" Josh asked Raina.
"Boots! Cause she's wearing boots!" Raina answered.
"I like that. Have a nice day, guys." Josh told them, winking at Rebecca. Rebecca smiled and exited the toy store.
To Rebecca's luck, Josh had written his number on the receipt, so Rebecca knew how to contact him.
The two of them bonded over mutual things – the same bands, books, movies and TV shows. Josh knew how to make Rebecca laugh and would often cheer her up with his impressions of the citizens of Storybrooke – Mr. Gold, Regina, Sydney and Jefferson – were her favorites.
After two dates, Josh asked Rebecca to go steady with him. Of course, Rebecca said 'yes'.
One night after the two of them had pizza at Pi In The Sky, they walked around Storybrooke, holding hands and laughing. David and Mary-Margaret were watching Raina, so they didn't have to worry about rushing home anytime soon.
They stopped in Scoop of Heaven for some ice cream and some conversation.
"Rebecca, I've been thinking and there's something I want to ask you." Josh started, getting down on one knee. Rebecca inhaled as Josh presented her with the most beautiful ring she had ever seen. "Will you marry me?"
Rebecca didn't know what to say, so she just nodded her approval. Josh smiled and slipped the ring onto her finger – it fit perfectly.
Two months after Rachel was born, Rapunzel and Jonathon were married. All eyes were on them as they recited vows and pledged their love to each other. Jonathon lifted the veil off Rapunzel's face and kissed her ever so gently on the lips. She returned the kiss as applause rang out from the witnesses.
Rapunzel smiled at her new love and headed hand-in-hand down the aisle, happy to be with the one she loved with all her heart.
Rebecca walked down the aisle of the church, her gaze straight ahead. She was looking at Josh – the love of her life.
The two of them recited vows, traded rings and pledged their love to each other. The priest nodded to Josh to remove the veil that hid Rebecca's lovely face. He placed both hands on either side of her face and kissed her with all the emotion he could muster.
Two years later, the happy couple welcomed a son. Both of them loved the name James, plus it was the only name they could agree upon.
"Our family is now complete." Josh whispered to Rebecca. She nodded and glanced down at her nursing baby. She knew that Josh was right – they were now a perfect family and nothing could break them apart.
A year after Rapunzel and Jonathon were married, they welcomed a healthy, perfect, bouncing baby boy into the world.
"Charles." Rapunzel whispered to Jonathon. Jonathon nodded and kissed the top of Rapunzel's head. He took a moment to look at his new son – he was the spitting image of Rapunzel.
Both Rapunzel and Jonathon knew that their family was complete and no form of magic or even Rumpelstiltskin could tear them apart.