4 years after the departure to Neverland. Belle's child just passed 3.
The ship crashed into the dock, much to the chagrin of its Captain. But there was no time for that. There was no time for anything. The boy's life was slipping away, the boy he now cradled in his arms. He thanked any and every deity that watched over him that his curse remained in place long enough for their rag-tag team to reach his shop. It slipped away (and his crippled leg returned) just as he set the boy down in the center of his floor, a worn blanket beneath him. They had completed most of the ritual on the way over from Neverland, rocking to and fro in the portal the Red Indians had created for them. Now they merely needed a place to store Pan's shadow.
The shadow that was currently latched onto young Henry's body. He had two shadows now, battling each other for dominance, each momentarily becoming loose from the boy's prone form, and the darkness was invading his mind. The child mumbled under his breath, both his mothers desperately watching Rumplestiltskin lurch across his own shop, scattering valuable artifacts all over the place. "Hey..." His voice was growing weaker "Who turned out the lights..?" Barely more than a whisper. With a manic 'A-ha!' the Imp grabbed what he had been searching for; a large golden egg, and an unassuming box sat on an unassuming shelf. In the box was a glowing vial, containing two very valuable strands of hair.
He tipped the magic (pure, undiluted True Love) onto the shadow that was baring its fangs and throttling the other, and when its form began to melt he collected it into the wand the Pixie had given him (on the condition they took her to Storybrooke with them, she was hanging off Charming's arm even now), and then forced it into the prized egg. He shoved that into another box, where it would be contained as long as no-one opened it to see what was inside. After several tiring moments of fierce concentration the threat was contained, and his grandson was safe. From that evil, at least. He moved himself back to lean against his glass counter, dragging the box with him. As Henry's eyes began to open he surveyed his exhausted team as they watched with awe as the much-loved boy awoke. His mothers, the Savior and the 'Evil' Queen knelt by his side, each offering comforting smiles. The former's mother (and the latter's step-daughter) had her hand on both of their shoulders, offering support. Her husband was flicking a Pixie off his shoulder. The Pirate Captain was offering Regina (now *shudder* his lover) his assistance in any way he could, currently allowing her to crush his good hand in her vice-like grip. Their second addition (he'd been expecting their numbers to fall, not grow) was reading a piece of paper. Silent, as always.
She was also crying. It is very hard to make a mermaid cry, that he knew, and though this one was now technically human, her base instincts still remained. But she discretely wept over this lonely piece of paper, and the Dark One wondered what form of abuse the townspeople had left on his front counter. He forced himself to his feet, and held his hand out for the note. She handed it over without a word (ahh, his wit was unmatched!). He opened it up, and got no further than his name (written thrice for good measure) before his young grandson had wrapped his arms around his waist in a tight embrace. He tightly returned it.
A few words exchanged, expressions of relief and welcome (and interest; the young Prince had never met a mermaid before, and instantly recognized poor Ariel from her Disney counterpart), and then Henry drew his attention back to the note. "What is that?", and a most adorably quizzical expression on his face that looked just like his late son's. So he looked back to it, shaking his head at the boy that had taken his focus from it in the first place. And he began to read.
Almost immediately his knees gave out; not just his bad one. He fell into a heavy chair from the back of his shop that Ariel had brought through. "What is it grandpa? Are you okay?" He looked up at his new-found family in shock wonder and awe. And horror. "Belle, uh, Lacey is pregnant. But she doesn't want the child." His eyes fell back to the cramped ink on the page as shocked gasps traveled around the group. He continued to read out random phrases. Such as one in particular that grabbed everyone's attention. "Neal is in Storybrooke!" Even the heartbreak at learning LaceyBelle had rejected their child could not entirely dampen the joy he felt at learning his Baelfire was alive. As expected, the Charmings, their daughter and their grandson were overjoyed. Hook discretely cheered, and Regina narrowed her eyes. 'Tink', as the Pixie was referred to as, propelled herself to full size so she could properly express her delight. Ariel shook her head and motioned for him to continue once more.
He reached the end of the note in mounting disbelief, and when he was done the paper fluttered to the floor. An inhuman, guttural sound tore across the shop, and it took him a moment to realize it came from his own mouth. His head fell forwards into his palms, and he watched as a delicate pair of hands picked up the abandoned parchment, the final farewell of the woman he loved. "Oh Gods!" He heard Snow White exclaim, her voice thickening with unshed tears. "Lacey, Belle, whoever she is. She killed herself." A sharper intake of breath throughout the room, and a straight out denial from Henry. Rumplestiltskin sobbed into his sleeves.
After several moments of desperate mourning (because even as his world ended theirs would undoubtedly continue) the others dragged him out of the door. They had decided to head to the diner to find Red and the Dwarves, and anybody else who might happen to be about. A cane had been retrieved from the back of his shop (by the Pirate of all people), but he didn't really use it. For some reason Charming was supporting his weight, Regina just behind to offer a hand every-time he stumbled. He was too focused on his crumbling heart to focus on this odd phenomenon, however.
When they got to the diner, interrupted several times by cheering townsfolk welcoming back their beloved King and Queen(s, one far less beloved than the other), they were each ambushed by a willowy brunette clad in red and black. She even embraced Rumplestiltskin, much to his irritation. Words swarmed around him, wishes of good fortune and assurances of good fortune. Only the Savior stuck by him, a hand constantly on his arm even as she embraced each of the Dwarves. He barely heard anything anybody said though, although the idea of 'time stopping when the Savior left Storybrooke' was a very interesting one indeed. It seemed only True Love children had aged (the esteemed Blue Fairy had apparently said their natural magic was more powerful than the crumbling residue of Regina's curse), which was good for those such as poor Cinderella who, after spending three decades in her third trimester, didn't really want to spend a further three years with an 18 month old. She wasn't the only one who aged though, and with an eye on Rumplestiltskin Red pointed out the two who had just entered the diner.
It was at this moment that Emma's hand finally left his arm, and he truly didn't know if she would have been more heartbroken or less so if the girl he was with was his age, rather than the three-ish year old he carried. "That was mean, little flower. Your Mama's gonna be so worried about you." The small girl smiled sheepishly, but was saved from further punishment when Emma breathed out a name, at the same time Rumplestiltskin did. Different names for the same man. His smile grew when he saw them, and soon he too was embraced by the jumbled up party, starting with Henry and going through the other three Charmings. It ended with the three year old who leaped back into his arms. Regina and Rumplestiltskin were excluded, even though the Mermaid and the Pixie embraced him at the same time, and the Pirate got a brotherly arm-grab he was sure had originated in this world.
After a few awkward moments of father and son staring at each other, Emma broke their trance by asking the million dollar question. "So... is this your daughter?" That certainly snapped Bae out of it. Red sniggered in the background. "What? Oh no, Gods no. I'm just watching this cheeky little lizard until her Mama figures out where she's run off to this time." The child stuck her tongue out at him. "Why lizard?" Henry and his endless questions. "You'll see when she goes out into the sun, isn't that right, little lizard?" The child giggled, blue eyes sparkling, and looked at the strangers. Her gaze instantly found Emma, who she pointed at. "Saveeor!" Bae told her 'yes, well done', and the girl beamed. Such a familiar smile. "And... Regini!" Bae smirked, his mouth tilting up. "Yes that's right." She scanned the group again, and this time her eyes found him. "Lonely man. Who dat?" "Well that, flower, is my Papa. Wanna say hello?" The child nodded enthusiastically, with far more excitement than the situation demanded, and after being placed down pottered over to him. Upon reaching his stool she looked up at him and, of all the things for her to do, she awkwardly curtsied. "Hello, Papa."
His heart broke at the sound, at the idea a child would never call him that again. "Y'know, dearie, I don't think your parents would really want you to call me that." At his words the bubbly, brown haired child frowned as though hurt. "Why not?" Her mouth so much resembled Henry's in that moment (a mouth he had inherited from his father), that Rumplestiltskin knew the child had to be Bae's. She had definitely inherited her father's mouth. And Rumple's nose had skipped a generation, although it looked much better on this beaming child. Before he had the chance to reply, though, a tinny sound rang out across the shop, and the young wolf was snapped out of her observation of his interaction with this child to answer her phone. "What? Oh, yes. She's here. Oh no, she's fine. Bae found her. Okay. See you in a bit."
She shut off the phone after an uncharacteristically short phone conversation, and came over to tap the small child on the nose. "You cheeky little lizard, your Mama's so worried about you." "Where she now, Auntie Ruby?" "She's at the park, looking for you. She says she'll be here in ten or so minutes." With that she stood up, back to her impressively tall full height. But the child instantly rolled her body forwards so she was on her toes. "Oh no, that's okay Auntie Ruby. I'll fetch her now." After a few seconds of staring at the girl, Bae and Ruby leaped forwards for her at the same time. "Cassandra, no!"
Too late. The child leaped away with a childish (impish) giggle, and after the barest of moments a plume of smoke collected behind her. It was cornflower blue, the color of a certain dress in springtime. From within it came a painfully familiar sneeze, and after a few moments a woman became visible, waving the magic away from her face. She shook her head and chocolate curls tinted with red fell loose, and she blinked eyes a blue deeper than the ocean. After a second or two of staring into the space in front of her, she shifted her gaze until it fell on the child before her. "Cassandra. How many times do I have to tell you not to do that?" The tone aimed for scolding and authoritative, but fell into the 'I love you too much to be angry' category.
The child instantly began to defend her actions.
"But Mama, look! I met the Saveeor! And Regini! (It's Regina, sweetheart) And Rummastillyskin!" "Rummastillyskin?" The child nodded in desperate confirmation. "Yah! But he said you wun't like it if I calleded him Papa. But I knowed he was lying." She smiled and turned to him, and he could see in that moment why she had her nickname. As the sunlight fell across her features it highlighted scales of green and gold, secretly shifting beneath the surface of her skin. Some might have found it slightly disturbing for a child to look like that, but he instantly found her beautiful. More beautiful than when he had first heard her laughter, and even more so when he had realized she was his. The mother straightened up to meet the eye of this 'Rummastillyskin', and instantly blue eyes met brown. He released a single breath.
"Belle..."