Obviously I had lots of feelings after "Quiet Minds". This is another small tribute to Neal Cassidy, also known as Baelfire. I will miss him :(

Again, Once Upon a Time belongs to Adam, Eddy, and ABC

Guardian Angel

It's late and the hospital corridors are quiet when he pays his visit. No one would know he was here anyway, but he likes that it's quiet: it's nice that he could come and say hello just now.

He doesn't know this place that well, but he finds his way easily enough to where he needs to be. He's drawn by the new connection he feels: a new life shares his blood and he has come to greet it.

He smiles as he sees them: mother and baby sleeping soundly. The mother is as beautiful as he remembers: chestnut curls spread across her pillow as she sleeps. There's a smile on her face and he knows she's happy: he smiles, glad.

The baby stirs in the hospital crib and he looks down at her: his little sister. They're centuries apart, but he feels such a strong connection to her, a protectiveness that warms him even though he no longer has a body: she's family.

She begins to fret and cry: probably sensing his presence. She's only hours old, so she's still connected to the spirit world, and he knows she'll be able to see and hear him.

'Hey, it's ok,' he murmurs, reaching down and touching an intangible finger to the crease in her brow. Immediately it disappears and the baby's eyes lock onto him.

He smiles. 'Blue eyes, just like your mom,' he says, 'and I bet you'll have her smarts too. Papa won't know what hit him.' He laughs softly. 'What'd they call you, baby girl?' he asks, looking for a name on the crib. He soon finds it. 'Lucy: Lucy Gold. That's a very good name.' He smiles down at little Lucy.

'Bet you're wondering who I am, huh?' Lucy simply looks at him, as if she's waiting for him to answer his own question. 'I'm your big brother,' he says. 'I'm Neal, but you can call me Bae. I just wanted to come by and say hello. You won't be able to see me again after today, but I'll be watching over you always, and some day we'll meet again.

'I wanted to tell you a few things while I'm here, ok? I wanted to tell you some things about your mama and papa. Your mom's smart, and kind, and beautiful. Papa once said that she finds the goodness in others and that's true. You're lucky you got her for a mother: if I had my time again, I'd like her to be my mom.

'As for Papa: well, he's pretty great too. I know from experience that he'd do anything for his family: family's the most important thing in all the realms to him. I also know that he's full of love, and that we're both lucky to have him for a father. He might make mistakes, but he loves you, and he'll always protect you.

'You've got some other family too. You've got Henry: he's my son, so I guess he'd be your…nephew? That's kinda weird.' He laughs a little. 'Well, anyway, I know he'll love you too. He's smart and brave, and he'll look out for you too.

'You've also got Emma. Emma Swan: she's Henry's mom and my True Love.' He smiles. 'She's smart and brave too. She and your mom are friends, so you'll see a lot of her as you grow up. You've got some strong, smart women in your life, Lucy, and I know you'll grow up to be just like them.

'I gotta go in a minute,' he says, 'but I just want you to know that you're loved, and that you've got a great family looking out for you, and that I'll always be watching over you, Lucy.

'Look after Mama and Papa, ok?' He begins to back away and Lucy begins to cry again. 'It's ok,' he says, coming back. She calms and he smiles at her. 'You won't be able to see me, but I'll still be here, ok? I'll always be watching over you, I promise.' He leans down and places a whisper of a kiss to her forehead.

'Go to sleep now,' he whispers, and Lucy obediently closes her eyes. 'Sweet dreams, little Lucy.' He smiles once more, looks from his little sister to his father's True Love and back again, and then he's gone.

0

Lucy's bright blue eyes scan the pictures on the mantle as her father holds her in his arms. At two years old, she knows who nearly everyone in the photos is. Rumplestiltskin smiles proudly at his little girl: she's every bit as clever as her mama.

'Who's that, Lucy?' he asks, pointing to a picture of Belle on their wedding day.

'Mama!' she cries happily.

'That's right, and who's this?' He points to himself.

'Papa!'

'Clever girl,' he says, kissing her head of brown curls. She names Emma and Henry, and even picks out Snow and David, and their son Leo, but then they come to a picture Lucy's never seen before.

Rumplestiltskin takes it from the mantle and looks at it for a long moment. Lucy rests her head against his shoulder and looks at it too.

Emma found the picture on Henry's computer a couple of weeks ago and thought he should have a copy. It's the only photograph he has of his son, and the only image Lucy will ever have of her brother. He thinks it's time to tell her about him.

'See that, Lucy?' he asks quietly, holding the photograph up: 'that's your brother. He was a hero, and he would have loved you.'

Lucy stretches out her hand and touches the photograph gently. 'Bae,' she says quietly.

Rumplestiltskin stares at his daughter, wondering how she knows that name. He's never spoken of Bae to her before. Perhaps he's heard her wrong.

'Who is it, Lucy?' he asks softly.

'Bae,' she says again, and there's no mistaking it: she knows her brother's name.

'Belle,' he calls, carrying Lucy and the photograph into the kitchen where Belle is making dinner.

Belle turns and smiles. 'Dinner's almost ready,' she says. 'What's wrong?' she asks, seeing the look on his face.

'Listen to this,' he says, and looks to Lucy again. 'Lucy, who is this?'

'Bae,' she says at once, and strokes the photo of her brother.

Belle's eyes widen. 'She knows him?'

He nods. 'How is that possible? We've never spoken to her about him: she's never seen him.'

Belle smiles tearfully and comes to them. 'He's her brother: perhaps that connects them somehow.' She strokes her daughter's hair.

'Bae, Mama,' Lucy says, pointing to the picture.

'Yes, darling,' Belle agrees, putting her arms around her husband and daughter: 'that's your big brother, Bae.' She looks up at her husband. 'I don't know how she knows him, Rumple, but I'm glad she does.'

Rumplestiltskin smiles. 'I am too.'

He knows a lot about magic, but there are some things that can still surprise him. His son and his daughter have met, somehow, somewhere, and that thought makes him so glad. It means that, though Bae may not be with them in person, his spirit still touches their lives, and Rumplestiltskin has hope that, one day, he will see him again. It's a gift he thought he'd never get and he's so grateful for it.

For now, though, he knows that all he can do is try to be the man his family deserves. He failed Bae in so many ways: he won't make those mistakes again. He's so grateful to Bae for his sacrifice, for giving him this second chance: he's not going to blow it.

'Thank you, son,' he whispers, and he almost thinks he sees his son's form standing in the light from the kitchen window, watching them and smiling.

Rumplestiltskin blinks back tears and he knows for sure that his son is watching over them: he's their guardian angel.

Thanks for reading