Finding Bae
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story, except for Beatrice. The rest belong to Disney and ABC. This was written for NejiHino100, who wanted someone to write a one-shot of Mr. Gold watching Finding Nemo.
It is the first Saturday of November. Generally on Saturdays, Mr. Gold does whatever he feels like doing. This Saturday, however, he is doing what Henry asked him to do on Thursday night. The Dark One approaches the DVD player that Henry insisted he have installed in his house and pops in the Finding Nemo DVD. As he sits back down on the couch, he wonders how this movie about fish is supposed to remind him of Bae. Wondering this, Rumple presses the pause button on the DVD remote and calls Henry's cell phone. After two seconds of ringing, the Dark One's grandson picks up.
"What's up, Grandpa?" Henry questions as he answers his cell phone.
"Henry, how is this film about fish supposed to remind me of your father?" Rumple asks in a skeptical tone.
"You haven't even watched it yet, have you, Grandpa?" Henry returns, rolling his eyes as he listens to his grandfather complain even before watching the movie.
"No, I haven't, and I don't really see the point. It's a movie about fish, Henry," Mr. Gold reasons with his grandson over the phone.
"Please just watch it. You won't regret it, I promise," Henry says before hanging up.
Mr. Gold sighs and presses the play button, ready to get this childish torture over with. The movie starts, and instantly Rumple is drawn into the story. He feels as if Henry is having him watch this because this "Marlin" character reminds the teenager of his grandfather.
"What if they don't like me?" Marlin says on the screen.
"Marlin…" the clownfish' wife starts.
"No, really," Marlin answers, looking at the eggs with fear in his eyes.
"I know how you feel, Marlin. I know how you feel," Rumple says out loud as he remembers feeling the same emotions before Bae was born.
Flashback
"Milah, I'm serious. What if our son or daughter doesn't like me?" Rumpelstiltskin asks as they continue preparing their small cottage for the arrival of their baby in a few weeks.
"Rumple, I'm sure our baby will like you," Milah assures her husband.
When Bae is born, the only person who can stop his cries is Rumpelstiltskin.
End of Flashback
Rumpelstiltskin is snapped out of his flashback when Marlin starts yelling after Coral and all but one of the eggs is eaten by a barracuda. Rumple is reminded of when he crushed Milah's heart to prove a point to Hook. It was Rumple's form of payback, but it affected his life as well. He went home without his wife, and Bae lost his mother that day.
The scene in Finding Nemo is now on the part where Marlin is cradling the last surviving egg in his fin.
"There, there, there. Shh… It's okay. Daddy's got you. I promise, I will not let anything happen to you….. Nemo," Marlin assures the egg.
Flashback
After Milah's death, the Ogre Wars start. It is a dark and stormy night in the Enchanted Forest, and seven-year-old Bae is awake and frightened. He hears crashing outside of the window and instantly jumps out of his bed and wakes his father.
"Bae, what's wrong?" Rumple groggily asks as he wakes up.
"I'm scared, Papa," young Bae whimpers as he climbs into the bed beside his father.
He trembles as another loud noise from outside startles him.
"There, there, there. Shh…. It's okay. Papa's got you. I promise, I will not let anything happen to you Bae," Rumple promises as he wraps the blanket tighter around Bae.
End of Flashback
"First day of school! First day of school! Wake up, wake up! First day of school," Nemo tells Marlin in the movie.
"I don't want to go to school- five more minutes," Marlin begs his son.
"Not you, Dad, me," Nemo reminds his father on the screen.
Rumple can't help but chuckle at himself, reminded of how Regina described Henry being the same way when he went to kindergarten. After a while, it is on the scene where Nemo gets taken by the divers. Subconsciously, Rumple grabs the nearest couch cushion and holds onto it for dear life.
"Daddy, help me!" Nemo yells out as the diver scoops him up in the net.
"I'm coming, Nemo!" Marlin shouts as he begins to swim after his son and the diver.
Tears start to fall down the Dark One's face as he remembers the day when Bae was taken away from him.
Flashback
The green portal begins to suck Baelfire away, leaving Rumple standing on the edges, looking at his son in despair.
"Come with me, Papa!" Bae yells, wishing that his father would give up magic where they can have a happier life together in a world without magic.
Rumple just lets the portal sweep Bae away, knowing that his boy will be safe now. Regret fills the Dark One's mind shortly after his son has been whisked away to another realm. Rumple begins the search for his son, vowing to stop at nothing until he finds Baelfire again.
End of Flashback
"Now, there is a father, looking for his little boy," the shark, whose name Rumple failed to hear remarks as Marlin tells him the tale of losing Nemo.
Rumple remembers someone saying that to him while he looked for Bae. Quite a while later, another animal remarks about how good of a father Marlin is to continue searching for Nemo.
"It seems he's going to stop at nothing until he finds his son. That's one dedicated father."
Flashback
"I really must be going, dearie," Rumple remarks as he passes by some men who are trying to delay his search for Bae.
"What's the hurry?" one of the men asks.
"I'm looking for my boy. He's been gone a very long time," the Dark One responds.
These men are lucky that Rumple has decided to spare their meager lives.
"How long has he been gone?" another questions.
"Twenty years, give or take," Rumple answers.
"It seems he's going to stop at nothing until he finds his son. That's one dedicated father," the third man remarks.
End of Flashback
Nemo and Marlin reunite, and more tears fall down Rumple's face. He is reminded of reunited with Bae in New York after all of those years apart. Belle walks in with their two-month-old daughter, Beatrice on her hip.
"Are you okay, Rumple?" Belle asks in concern as she shifts Beatrice to her other hip.
"I'm fine, dear. Let me hold Bea for a minute," Rumple answers as he reaches towards their daughter.
Belle hands Bea over to Rumple before walking back into the kitchen to finish dinner. Rumple lets Beatrice wrap her small hand around his pinky finger as he looks into her dark brown eyes, eyes that remind Rumple of Bae's.
"Bea, my little darling, your nephew Henry made me watch a film that reminded me of your older brother, Baelfire. You won't ever get to meet him, but I hope my stories of him will help you know a little about him," Rumple says to his daughter while running his hand through her tiny patch of light brown hair on the top of her head.
Rumple knows getting over his son's death is going to take some time, but he hopes that Belle, Beatrice, and even the Charmings can help him fill the gap in his life. Rumple makes a mental note to ask Henry if he can keep the Finding Nemo DVD where he can watch it whenever he thinks of Bae.
Author's Note: NejiHino100, I hope you liked this one-shot, since it was your idea, I just came up with the plot. Please review to tell me if I executed it according to your vision. Also, to the others who have read this, thank you for your support, and please review to let me know what you thought of this. One more thing, if you like my OC character, Beatrice, please let me know, and I might develop her character more in a couple of my other stories. Review with both comments of this one-shot and about Beatrice! I appreciate it!