Rumplestiltskin was used to invasive calls at all times of the day. It was one of the more annoying clauses of being the Dark One.
Before he became a husband and father to a cankerous infant who sleft in 40-minute intervals, he wouldn't have minded these late-night hurrahs. However, when these unexpected visits came at two in the morning and woke his wife and son, that's when threats were guaranteed and carried through.
"I'll get Gideon, you find out who the bloody hell is at the door at this time of night." Belle murmured as she sleepily put on her bedroom slippers.
"Yes dear." Rumple agreed, pulling on his robe.
"And honey?"
Rumple paused at the door.
"No magic."
Rumple's jaw clenched, his villainous plan to turn whoever the hell was trying to break their doorbell into a weasel faulted by his clever wife.
"Yes dear."
"Or violence." Belle added.
Damn.
"Yes dear." Rumplestiltskin agreed again, leaving the room before Belle could add anything else to her list of demands.
His ears rang as whoever was at the door continued to ring the doorbell, their tactics for entry now including pounding on the door and jimmying the knob. It wasn't until the Dark One heard the wail of a baby that he rushed to open the door.
The site before him would be a minor, but overall defining change to the Gold's life and those who were indirectly and directly involved.
"What did you do!"
Rumple studied the pajama-clothed, frizzy-haired witch before him, his heart skipping a panicked beat before he reminded himself that she couldn't hurt him anymore. His eyes lowered to the squalling, blanketed infant in her arms and the panic resurfaced.
He needed Belle. Belle would know what to do.
His breath caught when Zelena barged into the sanctity of his home, her daughter's cries piercing the air. Before he could close the door Regina stepped in, giving him an apologetic frown before she eased into his living room, Emma tiredly trailing in behind her.
"What is going on?" he asked as he closed the door.
"Look!" Zelena shrilled as she carefully laid her daughter down on the nearest soft surface and tore off the blanket protecting the babe from the cold.
Rumple reached over and turned on a lamp. Even Dark Ones couldn't see in the dark after all.
"It happened about an hour ago." Regina explained. "I tried to reverse it but…but we're not even sure what's happening."
He wasn't sure what he was looking for at first. Robyn was clothed only in a diaper and he felt the parental urge to recover her. Then his eyes settled on her motionless, discolored legs.
They weren't twitching, weren't making the slightest movement of all.
Then a light chill went up his spine when he sensed the twinge of magic radiating off of her.
"Rumple?"
The Dark One and company turned to see Belle coming down the stairs, a cooing Gideon tucked safe in her arms.
"What's going on?"
"I'll tell you what's going on!" Zelena burst, the high sound causing both babies to stir. "Your husband traumatized my daughter!"
"Zelena," Regina growled. "You swore you weren't going to do this."
Belle quickly put Gideon in the pram they kept downstairs and ran over to the Robyn, her eyes burning with the same motherly concern they would have for her own son.
"Don't!" Zelena raged, her voice breaking with a sob.
"Zelena please," Belle begged. "Let me see what I can do."
"There's nothing you can do." Zelena spat. "Just your husband." She turned to the Dark One, trying to put on a fierce look despite the tears running down her cheeks. "Fix this!"
"First off, dearie," Rumplestiltskin snarled lowly. "Keep your voice down. You're scaring the children. I can't fix it because I had nothing to do with it." He glanced at Emma who gave him an odd look in return.
"Fix what?" Belle begged. "What's wrong with Robyn?"
"She's…she's…" Zelena sputtered as she tried to get her words together. "Her legs are…dead!"
Belle looked at the 2-month old legs. Indeed, they were limp and a horrid puce color that made Belle's stomach turn. The full blunt of the situation was made clear when Robyn's upper body squirmed with discomfort but her lower did not.
"He did this to my baby!" Zelena cried.
"I did nothing." Rumple snarled.
"Oh please, you did this out of pathetic spite over Neal." Zelena scoffed.
Rumple did not respond for a long time, but his eyes said everything he was feeling.
"Zelena, stop." Belle stated firmly but gently enough to calm the room. "Let him help."
Rumplestiltskin looked into his wife's eyes, looking for doubt.
"I didn't do this to her Belle." he stated firmly, ignoring Zelena's scoff of denial. "But I'm going to find out who did."
"Maybe you should try looking in the mirror." Zelena spat.
"Do you want to sit here and argue about this all night or do you want to find out what is wrong with your daughter?"
Zelena opened her mouth to respond, but quickly closed it when the well-being of her daughter was put into question.
Rumplestiltskin gave a small thanks for her functioning parental instincts before turning back to the babe, his hands hovering over her discolored legs.
"Keep your hands where I can see them." Zelena warned sharply.
"Zelena for god's sake." Regina groaned.
Rumplestiltskin clenched his jaw and continued, using his magic to search for a barrier of some sort.
"Are you certain that she didn't just sleep wrong?" Belle asked as she stepped closer, a hand covering her heart.
Zelena turned a hard glare to Belle. "Why don't we put your son on his back and test that theory?"
Rumplestiltskin shot around, grabbing Zelena roughly by the shoulder.
"Don't you fucking dare threaten my son."
"Or what?" Zelena laughed. "You'll kill me? How charming."
Rumplestiltskin gnashed his teeth, his hand shaking.
Before Zelena could continue or Regina could step in, Belle grabbed the witch's opposite shoulder, spinning her to her.
"If you threaten my son, I will kill you." Belle stated, voice fierce and eyes hard as diamonds.
Zelena stared down at Belle, the usually hilarious six-inch difference between them now condescending now that Belle looked ready to dig her teeth into the witch's throat. It made Zelena hold her tongue, but she rolled her eyes to demonstrate that she would have the last word.
"You have every right to be stressed about this," Regina stated as she stepped between the women at last. "However, if you want their help—which you've come for—you are going to need to calm down and be quiet so that Rumple can work."
Zelena gulped, her eyes glassing over again. "Fix the problem he caused you mean."
"He didn't do this Zelena," Belle sighed. "Unlike some people, he's not petty enough to go after his enemies' children to get even with them." She turned her back on the witch before she could respond, keeping her eyes on Robyn to remind herself to keep her temper.
The babe cooed up at the Dark One, seeming not to be in pain despite her predicament. Belle managed a small smile when Rumple hummed a light tune to keep her calm. When his fingers trailed back over the center of her spine, he paused, his eyebrows bowing down in question. Then, his eyes widened and he took in a sharp breath.
"I found it."
The women in the room mashed themselves to his side.
"What did you find?" Belle gasped.
"This is a slow-reacting spell that has finally matured, indeed an act of dark magic." Rumplestiltskin confirmed solemnly.
"Is that an admission of guilt?" Zelena snarled.
"Zelena." Regina warned again, turning to her former mentor. "Who's magic? Is it her own or…"
Rumplestiltskin shook his head. "Children who are born of magic wielders don't have a moral code. That developer with time and decisions. This came from someone else, someone who was wielding immensely dark magic."
"Was?" Belle inquired.
Zelena shook her head, trying to wrap her head around that Dark One wasn't the culprit.
"Who would want to curse my baby?" Zelena cried. "She…she's innocent. She hasn't had the chance to do anything."
Belle carefully placed a comforting hand on the witch's shoulder and Rumplestiltskin looked on in pity. Despite his misgivings towards the witch, it was obvious that she loved her daughter dearly and was willing to one-up with the Dark One and his wife for her.
Rumplestiltskin admitted. turned to the savior, and her eyes widened as he sought answers from her. "Why don't we ask her."
"But…I…no." Emma denied, looking at Rumplestiltskin, then at Zelena who shook her head in disbelief, and finally at Regina who looked torn between defending her friend and consoling her sister.
"All magic comes with a price." Rumplestiltskin muttered, reaching over to re-blanket Robyn.
"I gave birth to my daughter in under ten minutes." Zelena spat. "I paid the price for that spell."
"True, but Robyn was the target of the spell, not you." Rumplestiltskin explained. "Being brought to full term in a matter of minutes would certain affect some sort of development."
"NO!" Zelena shrieked loudly. "No! This is not happening! You have to fix this!"
"I would if it were possible, Zelena." Rumplestiltskin stated firmly. "Robyn's paid the price for this curse. Severing that contract could make things much worse for her. We can't risk it."
Zelena turned to Emma, her eyes fierce. "You're the savior. You have light magic surely you can…do something!"
"I…I tried Zelena. That's why we brought her here…"
Zelena scoffed, her hands shaking. "Worthless, all of you!"
"Zelena, breath." Regina said, jumping back when Zelena slung her arm from her grip.
"What am I supposed to do?" Zelena yelled. "What quality of life is she going to have if she can't walk?"
Rumplestiltskin didn't respond. Both of his children were healthy, and thus he had no idea what Robyn's life would be like.
"Robyn will have the same life any other child." Belle promised soothingly. "We can get her a wheelchair, we'll build her a ramp on our houses. We'll do anything to make you both comfortable."
"Our houses?" Zelena said as she gathered her baby, her green eyes baring into Belle's. "I won't be bringing my baby back here."
Belle blinked, the words slowly seeping into her brain, crushing her.
"Don't…Zelena…I…we can still help."
The wicked witched smirked. She may not be able to harm the Dark One any more, but she could still get a jab in at his wife.
"If your husband can undo a simple spell, I doubt you can be of any greater help. I don't want either of you or your spawn near her again."
"Stop with the pointless threats, Zelena." Regina warned, but her sister barreled past her.
"Zelena no, please…" Belle began to sob, her husband clasping her shoulders to hold her together. The last thing she saw before tears took over her vision were the clear pools of Robyn's eyes and the door closing on them.
Belle covered her mouth to muffle her cries, feeling safe to release them only when her husband turned her into his chest.
"Don't listen to her Belle." Regina soothed. "She's hysterical. I'll talk to her about this in the morning and I'll get her to forget that nonsense.
Belle nodded as Regina went after her, Emma lingering behind, unsure of what to do.
"There's really nothing you can do?"
"Not without making the situation worse." Rumplestiltskin stated, glancing at his wife. He held his breath when she saw the anguish in her eyes.
"I don't believe it." Emma denied, shaking her head. "You're just giving up, I'm not going to do that. I'll find something to fix this."
"Miss Swan," Rumplestiltskin sighed, wanting her out of his house. "No amount of magic you perform can undo what you've done. You cast a dark spell for selfish reasons and now you have to deal with those consequences."
"I was trying to save Killian!" Emma protested.
"No, you were trying to cover up the mistake you made with him!"
"Before anyone else could get hurt!"
"And you honestly think Zelena wouldn't have done the same?" Rumplestiltskin scoffed. "Or what about Robyn? You think she wouldn't have wanted revenge later if you had made her an orphan?"
"Stop!" Belle yelled over them, Gideon's cries picking up. "It doesn't matter who's fault this is or why Emma did what she did. What matters now is that we ban together and help Robyn every way we can. We'll keep looking for a cure, but until then we handle this the way anyone else would."
Emma gulped, her guilt shining bright in her tired eyes.
Rumplestiltskin nodded and pointed to the door.
"We'll discuss all of this in the morning. For now, please go home, Miss Swan."
Emma nodded, making a curt line to the door.
Rumplestiltskin locked it tight behind her, vowing repercussions on anyone else who dared disturb them again. He turned to his wife and notice that she was wiping frustrated tears from her eyes. He went to her and took her into his arms again.
"It's okay Belle." He whispered into her hair. "We'll see Robyn again in no time."
Belle nodded, turning her head so that her cheek was resting on his shoulder. She was able to look at her son now, fast asleep in his pram. The site lifted her spirits slightly and she willed herself to pull herself together.
Rumplestiltskin watched as his wife picked up their baby and carried him upstairs. Part of him wanted to go after Zelena and demand she apologize to Belle for her pointless, cruel declaration. However, he reminded himself that despite how much he despised Zelena, she and him were finally on the same level. She was a scared parent and was lashing out. Once she calmed, or once a solution to her magical predicament was found, he would talk to her about relinquishing her threat.
For now he'd comfort his wife and insist she go back to bed. She'd need her rest to deal with the fallout during the daylight, as well as in the future.
-,-,-,-,-,-
For once it wasn't Gideon's hungry wail that woke Belle three days later, but rather an insistent, ongoing pounding. Belle fought with her need to go back to sleep and sat up, noticing instantly that her husband was not warming the blankets beside her.
The banging continued, and Belle got out of bed with a groan, stalking over to the window to address the annoying noise. It took her a moment to blink the sleep out of her eyes to understand what she was seeing. There were three blurry figures in her yard, surrounded by what appeared to be smudges of brown. Shaking her head, Belle adorned her robe and made her way to the nursery, noticing that her baby was not in his crib.
She discovered when she reached the living room that the noise was coming from the porch, something that made Belle both curious and concerned. She opened the door carefully and was surprised to see Geppetto and August Booth measuring boards of wood on her lawn.
"Belle?"
The woman in question turned to see her husband on the porch, their son cooing in his pram. As Belle approached closer, she released as joyful cry at the site of Robyn wrapped securely in her own.
"Robyn!" Belle gushed, turning to her husband. "How…"
Rumplestiltskin smiled secretly. "Dr. Whale gave Zelena a few brochures about how to care for a disabled child. One of them contained information on a learning session taking place in Boston this weekend. I suggested that perhaps it would be easier for them to attend if they found someone to look after the baby…and here we are."
"Indeed." Belle grinned, giving her husband a series of kisses on his cheek. He laughed and eased her to his side, encouraging her to curl into him.
"What's with all this?" Belle inquired, pointing to the miniature construction site in their front yard.
"Well, you did say that we could build a ramp on our porch for Robyn, so I'm doing just that."
Belle gasped, assessing the construction more thoroughly. "Oh Rumple…I can't believe you'd do all this for her."
Rumple glanced at his wife, then at their son and Robyn. While he may never be able to get over his own issues with Zelena, he didn't want to look at her daughter as anything but her own person. Belle looked at the child as her own, and perhaps he could see her as that as well.
"I'll do anything for my family." Rumplestiltskin stated simply, not needing to mention that Robyn was part of their family now.