Prelude
Believe it or not, this was far from the first time Rumpelstiltskin had sat down for tea with a sorceress.
"The only thing I desire is the information to create a curse that will transport Belle and I back to the Enchanted Forest."
"Why not reconcile somewhere else?" the sorceress inquired.
"Our relationship began there and remained strongest. Times were simpler. Belle loved me deeply in the Enchanted Forest. Most importantly, there was no meddling Emma Swan and Co. to ruin my relationship, especially that dastardly pirate. So what do I need to make this curse?"
"Oh a curse, how predictable Rumple." Her smooth voice purred.
He lurched suddenly and grabbed her wrist. "Don't call me Rumple. And this curse is different, dearie. It's not to punish everyone. It's simply to benefit myself."
She ripped her wrist away from his clutches while still maintaining her confident aura. "Yes, I have heard far and wide of the greed of Rumpelstiltskin. You need exactly four ingredients for this curse: three hairs of a unicorn, the leaf of an Infane flower, star dust from the kingdom of Oakenhaven."
"And?" Rumple asked, cueing the fourth and final ingredient.
"And the product of true love's product of true love."
Any child born of true love was useful to Rumple. This has been proven again and again throughout history. But if one of these children were to grow up and have a child with their one true love, it would be twice as powerful. His thoughts went to Emma Swan. Emma herself was a product of true love, and if she gave birth to the product of her own true love, the baby would be unstoppable. He had magically tested Henry for what the sorceress had just described to him months ago. Alas, Henry's father and Rumple's son Neal had not been Emma's true love, and in turn Henry failed to inherit the full power of two generations of true love. This did not mean, however, that Miss Swan did not have a true love.
It was then he realized exactly what he needed to complete the curse that would bring him home.
"I must obtain the child of Emma Swan and the nefarious Captain Hook."
The only problem was Emma and Hook did not have a child. Yet.
"There's one more thing, Rumpelstiltskin," she confided, quite amused with the words she had carefully selected: "If you interfere in the child's conception with magic, the child will not inherit the power of two generations of true love. In fact, any of your magic used in the lovers' vicinity could be potentially harmful to your little plan."
"Then I vow not to use an ounce of magic once I reach Storybrooke."
This was possibly the largest setback to his gimmick yet. Things were not made easier by the fact that Rumple did not have long to stay in Storybrooke before someone discovered him. Rumpelstiltskin's return trip to Storybrooke had to be entirely unnoticed by all of its inhabitants. Things were proving to be slightly more challenging than he originally anticipated.
But the Dark One was not fazed. He would do whatever needed to be done to get his happy ending with Belle. Other than the few… challenges… in his plan, Rumple had a great feeling about this scheme. He recalled that Henry would come up with titles for his missions, so Rumple decided to expand that tradition by naming this one "Operation Duckling."
"Operation Duckling" began the second tea time wrapped up with Rumple's lady sorceress friend. With a wave of his hand she had forgotten he'd ever come to visit, but what he hadn't let her forget was that next time a great wizard walked through her doors she would be a bit more respectful.
She was of no consequence. Operation Duckling was a go. It was time for Emma Swan and Killian Jones to have a baby.
Chapter 1
Throughout the entire time that Rumpelstiltskin had known Emma Swan, not once did he ever imagine that he would try to get her pregnant. Then again, it wasn't the strangest thing he'd ever done. There was that one time he ended up retrieving a glass eye from a whale.
Rumpelstiltskin's reunion with this seemingly quaint little town had been silent as planned. His status remained incognito. It was a drawback that he could not use magic to disguise himself but before he had become the Dark One he had been used to living on the down low. Back in the days before he had magic, being the town coward meant not many people liked to see you. So he had started only leaving his little house when necessary to please the residents of his village. He had taken to going for strolls at night and always wore a cloak in order to conceal his identity.
The Dark One used these same tactics now. He traveled only at night, and still mostly through alleyways and the least busy residential streets. The cloak he wore covered his form and face and didn't bother the few people who saw him. After all, Storybrooke was filled with all kinds of odd sorts. As long as he didn't hurt anybody, a man in a cloak was the least of their troubles.
He got down to business almost right away. He didn't know where else to start other than Mary Margaret and David's apartment. Over time it had become home to Emma and often Henry and other wandering souls such as Elsa who was no longer in Storybrooke. If he eavesdropped he could possibly find out information he needed to know. If he was lucky, Emma still lived there. By ten thirty it was dark enough that Rumpelstiltskin could travel but early enough that the inhabitants of the apartment were probably still awake.
Rumple climbed the stairs leading to their door as noiselessly as he could. He perched himself outside of it, prepared to take off if he thought someone was going to open the door.
He heard Mary Margaret's record player crackle to life and "Flowers in Your Hair" by the Lumineers sweetly crooned from the crack in their door. Inside, David mentions "I kind of miss how Emma would instantly start complaining whenever we turned on the Lumineers."
"Yeah, I bet she misses our record player." Snow White muses as she joins him on the couch.
"Oh please, having her own apartment by the bay, living with Hook, it must be a dream come true."
"It's hardly what I'd imagine a dream come true." Mary Margaret went on.
"Yes, but we have very high standards for dreams coming true." David interjected. Mary Margaret smiles at that and clasps David's hand. But she can't help herself.
"You know Emma's birthday is coming up and now that Hook pays half the rent at their Dapplegrim apartment, I bet he can't afford to buy her fancy diamond earrings anymore."
"True, he's still paying in dubloons. So what, we should get her fancy diamond earrings? I still think that was an unreasonable gift for just the few weeks they've been dating."
"You're such an overprotective dad." Mary Margaret playfully pushes him. "And no, I was thinking we should get her a nice record player. And maybe a Lumineers album in case she misses us."
David groaned and Mary Margaret babbled on. From his position outside the door, perched like a starving hawk, Rumple grinned. So it would seem Emma and Killian had their own living space together. And diamond earrings were always a step in the right direction. It seemed like this couple wasn't wasting any time.
Now that he knew where they lived, the next step was to break into the flower shop at approximately one in the morning.
Patsy's Pansies was the only flower shop in the entirety of Storybrooke. As it turns out, Patsy Stockingholme before the curse had been Megara from the popularized movie "Hercules." Megara's Pansies doesn't have the same ring to it, so the name Patsy's Pansies remained. She claims her inspiration for the flower shop had come from a dream she had as Patsy where a handsome stranger handed her a beautiful, white flower.
Anyway, Rumple waited until one o'clock in the morning when everyone had gone to bed and not a single creature stirred in the town. Storybrooke ran on such a loose "trust" system, that breaking and entering the shop was quite easy… almost too easy. As Rumple entered the store he noticed several stone figurines scattered amongst the flowers. He only hoped that the co-owner of this establishment was not Medusa. He wasn't proud to say he'd had a one night stand with her a long time ago and what could he say? She got a bit clingy.
Looking around the shop, Rumple quickly spotted the bouquet arrangements. He might not know Emma Swan as a friend, but Rumple had a feeling that she would despise roses for being too cliché. The bouquet of gladioli's caught his attention. In the Enchanted Forest, there was an ancient Language of Flowers. The gladiolus flower symbolizes passion, love, and most importantly, a warrior. Nicking them from their display, he carried them back to Granny's. He had managed to reserve a name under Sir Gawaine whilst wearing his cloak and using a deepened voice. Granny seemed interested in checking his face, but he managed to leave her under the false pretenses that he had severe face burns from a run in with a dragon.
He left the flowers in his room because when he did what he was about to do he couldn't look any stranger than a man in a cloak. He also picked up his lock-picking kit. Since he knew he wouldn't be able to use magic once he got to Storybrooke he had brought all sorts of tools with him. He knew picking locks was something he'd probably be doing a lot at his final stay in this town.
Rumple strolled through the night until he got to Cinderella's Slipper, Storybrooke's most expensive store. Cinderella had actually tried for a lawsuit against the owners because she was in no way affiliated with the store nor had agreed with her name being used in the store's title. Rumple picked the lock in about a minute and left the door open just a crack.
Rumple then checked his watch. It was 1:30 a.m which meant David had just started his shift at the Sheriff's office. He made his way to the street corner outside of the local bar. He had known the thief Will Scarlet to hang around these parts most nights. He needed only wait about twenty minutes before Will came along, stumbling just a bit.
Rumple used his deepened voice to attract Will's attention. "Hey you there! Boy!"
Will looked around in all directions, seeing who the strange man in the dark cloak was talking to before realizing that it was himself. Yes, Will Scarlet was slightly drunk.
"You talkin to me, Mr. Cloak Man?"
"Why yes, son. I have reason to speak with you."
"Then why do you have that ridiculous looking thing on?" Will closed the gap between them by lunging forward and attempting to grab Rumple's hood. Luckily, Rumple caught his hand just in time.
"Ah, ah, ah. Must've go grabbing at things that aren't our business," Rumple warned. Even with his face covered, he still had a terrifying aura around him.
"Who the hell are you?"
"I'm someone who's on your side. But I am also not someone to be messed with."
"And how are you on my side?"
"I have highly coveted information by the likes of you. I'll let you in on a secret: Cinderella's Slipper is open for the taking."
"Why the bloody hell would I want to rob a store called Cinderella's Slipper?"
"You blatantly don't understand how profitable that store is. Not only is it of the highest caliber, but it also holds an exact replica of Cinderella's glass slipper which is worth thousands. The original, however, is priceless. An eager buyer who isn't the brightest would never be able to tell the difference between the copy and the original if you understand what I'm trying to say..."
"Why me?" Will demanded. His drunken state caused him to be sluggish in his movement, and his aim of Rumple's cloak merely reached the air beside his head. "Tell me! Who are you? You seem to know a lot of information about thievery- why don't you rob the bloody store?"
"I am the wealthiest man that you could ever imagine meeting, but gold is not the source of my riches," Rumple cackled. "No, my infinite knowledge makes me the richest man in the world. I do not need a glass slipper, but I know you Will Scarlett, and this information is useful to you."
"Bloody hell! You know my name!" In spite of his inebriation, Will was not thinking clearly. All he could picture is him holding a glass slipper in one hand with piles of money in the other.
"I know much more than your name. You may either take this opportunity to become significantly richer, or you may forget everything I've just told you and waste the best thing that could ever happen to your tiny, insignificant little life."
Will was not a fool... when he was sober. However, the promise of money was enough to trick him in his current state, and he immediately made way for Storybrooke's most luxurious store.
Rumple's eyes glinted maliciously from underneath his dark hood, like a cat.
Watching Will's retreating figure, Rumple took off in the direction of the sheriff's station. His plan was running smoothly.
The harsh, fluorescent lights of the station contrasted against the midnight hues of the sky, but Rumple could make out David's hunched over figure.
A bell chimed when Rumple entered the station, and David jumped in surprise, spilling his coffee.
"Dammit! I needed that to stay awake!" David swore, quickly wiping up the spillage with his sleeve.
"I'm sorry to bring you any trouble," Rumple began. "But I think that the information I bring to you will make up for your drink. I was returning home when I saw Will Scarlett breaking into Cinderella's Slipper. No one was there to stop-"
David cut Rumple off with a frantic gesture as he rose out of his chair, slightly slipping on the spilled coffee.
"I need to get Emma and Hook. They're closer than I am to Cinderella's Slipper!" David shouted, scrambling for the phone.
"If I may, I would suggest to leave the good captain out of this. Storybrooke is a small town and one hears things... I fear that Hook's history with Will might make a bigger mess of this ordeal."
"Fine, whatever. I suppose you have a point," David said hurriedly. "Just wait here! I'll need to a statement from you!"
David took off into the night, his ringing cellphone in hand.
Meanwhile, Emma was rudely woken to the sound of her persistent phone ringing loudly. She had been blissfully sleeping with Killian's arms wrapped around her, creating a world she never wanted to leave.
"Turn it off, Swan. It's the bloody middle of the night. All this beeping and technology are nuisances," Hook groaned.
"It's David, I have to answer this," Emma argued, but she wasn't happy about it either. There was a reason there were shifts at the sheriff's station. Sleep. Sleep was that reason. Emma pressed the answer button.
"Emma! Leave Hook and meet me at Cinderella's Slipper right now! Don't waste any time!" David's voice shouted over the phone.
"What? Why do I have to leave Hook? What's happening?" Emma wondered, but her father had already hung up. Hook sat up in confusion beside her.
"David told me to meet him at Cinderella's Slipper immediately but to leave you behind!" Emma explained briefly as she leapt out of bed. Despite David's warning to leave Hook behind, Emma expected her boyfriend to follow regardless.
"I don't know. Must be serious," Hook shrugged, sagging backwards into the bed.
"Aren't you coming?" Emma asked from the doorway.
"If my mate told you to come alone, I think we should respect that," Hook yawned, already almost asleep.
"Sure. Whatever," Emma replied icily. Her father sounded urgent, so she didn't want to waste a second. This could be anything from a "I messed up and Snow is pissed so meet me at a fancy store to help me pick out a gift and don't let Hook know because he will tease me" situation to "help there is another evil sorcerer/sorceress and they are threatening to kill all the innocent citizens of Storybrooke and we need to stop him/her" situation. Emma hoped it was the former, but she was still angry at Hook for not following her as it could easily be the latter. She jogged up to Cinderella's Slipper right as her father arrived.
With a silent nod of understanding, both father and daughter stormed into the shop only to find Will Scarlett attempting to crack the code of the glass slipper's case.
"Hands up, bitch." Guess which one said that.
As Emma roughly shoved Will's wrists into handcuffs, something rather odd was occurring at her and Hook's residence.
Rumple had ignored David and left the sheriff's station to retrieve the flowers from his room. The flowers were now concealed by his black death cloak. He snuck into Emma's apartment building- quicker than lightning and quieter than a mouse. Not that mice are the quietest creatures out there. In fact, mice can be quite squeaky when one thinks about it- oh, nevermind.
Anyway, Rumple found the apartment number associated with "Swan-Jones" (of course her last name is first, Rumple thought briefly), and crept up to the door. Using one of his tools, he skillfully unlocked the lock with ease. Huh, one would think an ex-con and a pirate would keep a harder to pick lock.
On his tip-toes, Rumple slithered into the apartment and placed the flowers on the nearest table. He thought he heard someone waking up, but it turned out it was nothing more than Hook's snoring and incoherent night babbling. He thought he heard him mumble Emma's name a few times, but he did not wake. Rumple grinned widely, like the Chesire cat. His plan was in motion.
Later that morning, Emma walked through the door exhausted, her shoulders heavy and her head throbbing. David was so going to have to let her sleep in, pulling guns on criminals in the middle of the night didn't put her in the right mood for the morning. Not that Emma couldn't handle it, she had juggled a hell of a lot more and could again. It wasn't that she had needed Hook there either or been terribly broken up when he didn't follow her. She had just rather gladly gotten used to him being her knight in shining armor. He had always jumped at the opportunity to keep her safe. But when David asked for just her, Killian hadn't been as curious as Emma would've thought.
Emma slowly took off her jacket and put it on the back of one of the kitchen table chairs. She rubbed her temple and exhaled deeply. When she brought her head back up, vibrant purples and blues caught her eye. Emma stared, wide-eyed at the flowers-lovely as they were-on her mahogany table. Was she crazy? She'd been sure they weren't there when she left earlier. That meant they had to have been placed while she was gone. Were they a trick? A trap? A distraction?
Then Emma laughed at herself. She must really be going crazy if she thought flowers were a threat. A warm feeling spread through her that only Killian gave her when she realized he must have been the one who got them. Killian knew her better than anyone. He must have caught on that she was pissed as hell but still didn't want to disobey David by tagging along after Emma. Hook was still trying to earn David's full approval.
"And the prize of best boyfriend goes to... Killian Jones!" Emma called out, reading the note attached. She expected Hook to be awake, seeing that he had put flowers out, so she was slightly surprised when there was no answer.
"Killian? Killian!" she shouted. Upon entering the bedroom, she immediately saw his sleeping figure.
"Lazy bones can't even stay awake after getting me flowers," Emma grumbled, though entirely happier after her discovery of the flowers. She kicked off her shoes and leapt into the bed, kissing Killian gently on the lips.
"Mm, love. No better way to wake up," he grinned, eyes fluttering open.
"Thank you for the flowers," Emma said, her voice growing low. Killian looked at her in confusion.
"Flowers?"
"Don't play coy- I saw them on the table. They're my favorites!"
"Gladiolus flowers?"
"Why are you acting so surprised? You did get them for me after all. I read the note."
"Actually, I-" but all protests were soon lost on Hook's lips as something more interesting came up.
A/N: So there's the prelude and the first chapter! I hope you enjoyed and love Captain Swan as much as we do! This story was co-written by wearethesultans (yes my username goes first) and fishfingersandcustard333. We got this idea from venting about how OUAT (disclaimer: we do NOT own it in any because if we did, we would make this fanfic happen) keeps bringing in new villians, whereas a season based on problems of already existing characters would be better. I would much rather get some more screen time of our favorite Storybrookers than see yet another new villain introduced! Anyway, we somehow came up with this idea- the image of Rumple tiptoeing around incognito trying to make Killian and Emma procreate was just too great to pass up.