"Hold this." Belle looked up from her book at Rumplestiltskin's words. Before she could process what was happening, he dropped a baby in her arms.
"What's this?" Belle asked, adjusting the woolen blanket wrapped tightly around the sleeping baby.
Rumple replied, "A baby."
"No," Belle shook her head. "I mean, how did it get here?"
Rumple smirked. "Well when two people love each other-"
"You know what I mean!" Belle whisper-yelled over the sleeping baby.
"I got her in a deal," he said. "Follow me, I have a nursery for this type of thing."
Belle stood, holding the baby against her as she followed him through the maze of hallways in the Dark Castle. She hadn't been here long enough to look around, so walking into a fully-equipped nursery came as a surprise. In the corner sat a wooden rocking chair, a bin held toys, and a cradle for the baby stood next to her. Rumple waited for her to lay the baby down in the crib, then she followed him out into the hall.
"You're not going to eat it, are you?" She joked once he closed the door.
He chuckled. "I'm starting to rub off on you. No, I'll trade her away in a deal."
"When is this deal taking place?"
"I don't know," he admitted. "But in the meantime you are tasked with taking care of her."
Belle gaped. "I don't know the first thing about childcare!"
"Just," he waved his hands in the air as he thought, "feed her, change her, that type of thing. I'm sure you'll figure it out."
He must have assumed Belle grew up wanting a child. Growing up betrothed to Gaston, Belle never let herself think of children. Every time he talked of strapping boys like him, Belle stopped listening. Childcare couldn't be too hard, though. She'd seen mothers before. "What's her name?"
"She doesn't have one."
"She needs one," Belle insisted.
Rumple fidgeted with his sleeves. "If you give her a name you'll-"
"Athena." Belle interrupted him. She always liked that name.
He sighed.
Belle's room was close enough to hear if Athena cried in the night, but luckily she didn't. The next morning, however, Athena's cries stopped for nothing. Belle rocked the baby in her arms, trying to think on her feet. She'd already changed her and fed her, but nothing worked. Rumple appeared in the room with a wave of smoke.
"Give her to me." Belle happily obliged, watching as he held Athena against his leather vest and cooed at her. It took a few minutes but her cries gave way to small hiccups. She eventually calmed down, reaching her hands out to touch the spikes coming off his vest and to tangle in his hair.
"What kind of magic did you use?" Belle crossed her arms.
"Nothing, I swear." He replied, not able to move his head because Athena held a fistfull of his hair.
Belle watched as he lightly bounced her in his arms. "You're a natural." She observed. "Where did you learn to care for children?"
"That's none of your business, dearie." He placed Athena in her crib. "Now try to keep her cries from disturbing me. I have work to do."
It took over a week, but Belle came to learn what each of Athena's cries meant. She could tell when the baby wanted food, wanted to be changed, or just wanted to be held. Belle brought books with her to the nursery so she could read to Athena. She doubted the baby understood what she was saying, but she always quieted at the sound of Belle's voice.
Around teatime she laid Athena down for a nap, but today when she left the room Athena cried. Belle tried to get her to calm down for her nap, but Athena wouldn't let Belle leave her in her crib. So Belle brought her down to tea.
"You don't need to carry her around with you," Rumple remarked as she sat down in the Great Hall in front of the fireplace with him.
"Athena wasn't very sleepy today," Belle cooed as she adjusted her in her arms in a way that would allow for her to hold a teacup as well.
"Belle," he said, placing the teacup he used, chipped at the rim by her, on the table. "Don't grow too attached to her. We won't have her for long."
"I'm not," she said. "There's nothing wrong with being affectionate. You should try holding her."
He looked up from his teacup. "Alright."
"Really?" Belle asked.
He nodded, his eyes wide, and Belle stood up to place Athena in his arms. Athena grabbed onto his nose, giggling. Belle noticed him trying to keep a smile from blooming on his face.
He let Belle and Athena into his workroom after that, and Belle curled up with her on the couch. She read a book of mythology to her, pointing out the illustrator's drawing of the goddess Athena. The human baby Athena wasn't very impressed.
After dinner Belle placed Athena in her crib and joined Rumple back in the workroom.
"I found a family." He said once she'd situated herself back on the couch.
Belle paused. "For Athena?"
He nodded. "We'll leave tomorrow."
"When will you be back?" Belle asked, already feeling the loneliness of the castle.
"You're coming with us."
"What?"
He began measuring a potion. "Babies don't like transportation spells. We'll leave in a carriage tomorrow and you'll still be responsible for her."
The next day Belle bundled Athena up, sliding a hat over her small head. In the early hours of the morning, Athena barely could keep her eyes open. She rested in Belle's arms as Belle situated herself in the carriage across from Rumple.
"Who will her new parents be?" Belle asked eventually.
Rumple looked out the window. "A sweet old couple whose own daughter was stolen from them."
Belle gasped. "Why don't you reunite them with their true daughter instead?"
"It doesn't work that way."
"But-"
"And I know they'll be reunited eventually."
They rode the rest of the way in silence, stopping at an inn once the sun set. Rumple helped her down from the carriage, holding the door open for her as she entered the inn. Being the middle of the winter, there weren't many people inside, but everybody quieted once they saw Rumple. He made his way over to the innkeeper, speaking in hushed tones to the tall man.
He then motioned for Belle to follow them up the stairs, where she got situated in a room next to his. He'd already used his magic to bring her small trunk of clothing into the room as well as a crib for Athena. Belle tried to lay Athena down in the crib, but Athena had other ideas. Belle couldn't blame her- she'd spent the day sleeping. So Belle scooped her out and left the room in search of food.
Rumple exited his room as she closed the door to hers. "I was just about to ask if you were hungry," he said.
"I'm bringing Athena downstairs to get food, actually."
"Oh," he twirled his fingers together for a moment. "I could use magic to get food for you."
"I think you gave them a fright when you walked in earlier. The least we can do is buy food from them." Belle explained.
Rumple considered it for a moment, then turned around. "I'll be in my room," he grumbled.
The moment Belle slid into a seat, a waitress came to ask what she'd like. Belle ordered soup for herself and Athena.
"Will your husband be joining you tonight?" The waitress asked in her accent Belle couldn't recognize.
"My...excuse me?"
The waitress nervously glanced around, lowering her voice. "The Dark One."
"We're not married!" Belle whispered, her cheeks burning at the thought. That would never happen in this world or the next.
The waitress' eyebrows shot up. "The baby was born out of wedlock?"
Belle rubbed at her temples. "The baby isn't mine."
"That's right," the waitress nodded, "I forgot he steals babies."
"Just get us the food and leave us alone," Belle snapped.
The waitress nodded, scurrying away to the kitchen in record time. Belle glanced around, hoping nobody had overheard that. Belle had no interest for propriety, but she could practically hear her governess scolding her for bossing that poor waitress around. She deserved it for being nosy, though. Belle hoped the waitress' impression of her and Rumple was unique to her, because Belle would hate for rumors like that to spread across the realm.
A different waitress came with the soup, practically throwing it on the table and running away. Belle shrugged. She'd rather be left alone than have to deal with nosy questions. She fed Athena first, the spoon a little big for the baby's mouth. After finishing her own soup, Belle left some gold coins Rumple had given her on the table and went back upstairs.
Rumple paced outside the door to her room. "I can take Athena for the night," he said when he saw her at the end of the hall.
Belle adjusted Athena on her hip. "It's really no problem."
"What if she wakes up in the night?" He asked.
Belle shrugged. "She never does."
"Actually," Rumple sighed. "She does. I've been taking care of her at night."
"Why would you do that?" Belle shook her head.
He played with a button on his vest. "I don't sleep. It's nothing, really."
"What do you mean you don't sleep?" Belle asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Dark Ones don't need sleep."
"Well men do, and I know there is one in there begging for a little rest."
"Maybe." He held out his hands for Athena. "But not tonight."
Too tired to argue, Belle handed Athena over for the night. The next morning they set out before the sun was up. Rumple carried Athena to the carriage, holding onto her as she slept in his arms.
The kingdom of Corona was just waking up as they entered. When they passed some villagers, Rumple leaned forward to hand Athena to Belle. Belle studied her tiny face one last time, her eyes shut tight against the world and her pale fingers attempting to poke out from the blanket she'd been swaddled in. The carriage stopped, and when Belle looked, they were in front of a castle.
"You didn't tell me you dealt with the king and queen." Belle whispered across Athena.
"They lost their princess and now they need a new one." Rumple shrugged, standing. "Let's go."
The guards let them through without question. Rumple instructed Belle to wait in the hall while he entered a room. Belle inched closer to the door, trying to listen in on the conversation. She heard his giggles as he talked to the king and queen. She could picture the faces he made as the king countered back with something. The queen joined in the conversation, and then there was silence. She heard Rumple mumble something then the door swung open. Belle stepped back from it before it could hit her. If he noticed she'd been straining to hear, he said nothing.
He started walking down the hall. "We're leaving."
Instead of asking questions, Belle cast one glance at the king and queen before following him. The queen was looking at her- or rather, she was looking at Athena. Belle gave them a small smile then followed after Rumple. He didn't say much on the way back, just grumbled about other parties not holding up their end of the deal.
Things returned to normal at home. When Belle began referring to the Dark Castle as home, she couldn't tell. But Belle continued to bring Athena into Rumple's workroom to read to her. Belle had almost forgotten about Rumple's confession at the inn that he took care of Athena in the night, but she assumed he continued doing that, too. One day over dinner while Belle tried to feed mashed potatoes to Athena, Athena began crying.
"She's teething," Rumple said over her wails.
"How do you know?"
"I saw it last night." He stood from his side of the table, walking over to her chair. He snapped his fingers and held a teething ring. Belle stood, handing Athena over to him. He gave Athena the ring. Athena's tears lasted a few more moments before she started chewing on the ring, Rumple gently rocking her back and forth. When she opened her mouth, Belle could see the tiny white spec coming out from her bottom gum.
"She's growing up," Belle cooed.
"Aye," Rumple nodded, his eyes bright. Belle could stand there with Rumple and Athena for ages, but eventually it was time to get ready for bed.
Belle lay in bed that night, trying to figure out how long Athena would stay with them for. So far it had only been one month, but it felt like more. Belle wondered if they would see her start crawling- or maybe even walking.
When she awoke the next morning, there was no sign of Rumple or Athena anywhere in the castle. She checked the Great Room, his workroom, even the library; but they were nowhere. Telling herself they were just out for the morning, Belle settled herself with a book and cup of tea in her library.
She became so engrossed in the book she'd forgotten about the empty castle until she heard Rumple cough in the doorway. Belle slid the golden thread she used as a bookmark into her book, standing to meet him. "They followed through on their end of the deal," he simply said.
Belle had known all morning, but hearing it made tears prick at her eyes. She wrapped her arms around him, hiding her face in the crook of his neck. His hands came up around her, rubbing her back as she cried. Belle thought she never wanted children, but really she just didn't want children with Gaston. She wanted to be a mother. She'd had a taste of what it was like and now she wanted nothing more than that. But it would never happen, and there was nothing she could do about it.
Over thirty years later, Belle rocked her and Rumplestiltskin's daughter in the rocking chair Geppetto made for them. She hummed the tune to a song from one of those Disney movies, adjusting the teething ring in her baby's mouth. Her daughter's blue eyes looked around the room, widening in surprise when the front door opened and closed.
"Did you hear that?" Belle asked her. "Papa's here!"
Belle made her way downstairs, attacked by the greasy smell of Granny's fries when she entered the dining room. Baelfire set the table, greeting her with a silent nod and a smile. Rumple had been in the Underworld for the first part of her pregnancy, but having her stepson back made it worth it.
"How are my two favorite ladies?" Rumple asked as he placed the drinks on the table.
Belle pecked him on the lips, handing their daughter over. "Hungry."
Rumple chuckled, holding the chair out for her. Belle grabbed a bag from the middle of the table, emptying the hamburger and fries onto the china plate.
When the curse broke, they tried to find Athena, just to see how she was, but she'd been left in the Enchanted Forest. It all worked out, though. Belle had a stepson, daughter, and a husband she truly loved, and that was all she'd ever wanted.