Belle was facing a true dilemma: her magic was returning.
The reason she had any magic in her veins to begin with was because of her lineage—her beloved mother was none other than the renegade pixie, Tinkerbell, meaning that Belle herself was half human, half pixie. She knew it was coming back because she'd been sneezing pixie dust since she woke up that morning, which meant that her mother was in Storybrooke, looking for her! You see, on the day that Tinkerbell had left Avonlea to seek refuge in the Enchanted Forest from her husband, she'd cast a spell, taking Belle's magic away ("For your own good, my sweet.") until she returned. Belle eventually learned to live without the magic and when she moved into Dark Castle, she didn't speak of her absent powers or her lineage to the Dark One, for fear that he might use the knowledge against her somehow.
The sneezing of the fairy dust was worrisome for her because it made her grasp another important thing—she was carrying Rumplestiltskin's child.
A common fact among pixies is that instead of experiencing morning sickness during pregnancy the way human women do, pixie women just sneeze a lot, instead. But with her being only half pixie, Belle supposed that it was her human half that was turning her sneezing into full-blown sneezing fits.
How was she going to explain all this to Rumplestiltskin?
Talk about easier said than done.
"Rumple, we need to talk."
Belle had flipped the sign on the front of the pawn shop door from 'open' to 'closed' the second she entered. This act had engaged her lover's attention immediately and he went willingly with her to the back room.
"Sweetheart, we talk all the time."
"No, I mean really talk." She remained standing while he sat on the bed and looked up at her. "The main thing I want to address is why I keep sn-sn—ACHOO!"
She let out a massive sneeze and accepted the handkerchief that Rumplestiltskin produced out of thin air for her. Four more sneezes shook her body before the fit subsided and she could stuff the cloth back in her pocket.
"Are you ill, dearie?"
Belle stumbled over her words. "Not per se. I, uh, I'm half pixie."
The look of surprise on Rumplestiltskin's face was genuine; he'd never expected to hear anything like this from his Belle.
"Excuse me?"
"I am half human, half pixie." The librarian clarified.
"Why didn't you ever tell me?"
"It stayed in the family, and when we were at Dark Castle, I was worried that you would use the information against me if I told you because I figured out quickly that you're not a huge fan of my kind or even the fairies."
Rumplestiltskin didn't know what to say. "I… how… but I know your father, Belle. He's entirely human!"
"Who said anything about him being the magical one?"
"It was your mother…"
Belle nodded and sneezed twice. "I was twenty the last time I saw her, and she was leaving Avonlea for sanctuary in the Enchanted Forest because my father would beat her. If I hadn't already been engaged, I would've gone with her. Before maman left, she turned off my magic, if you will, because she was worried that something could happen to upset me."
"Just what can you do?"
Belle held out the palm of her hand and concentrated. In the next moment, a puff of pink smoke appeared and shaped itself into a mini pixie in a ballerina tutu. Blowing gently on it, Belle was able to make her creation levitate a few inches and turning cartwheels before dematerializing.
"That's just an example, but once things are working properly again, I'll be able to repeat that spell but make the figure solid and have it last longer."
"Impressive. Why didn't you use your powers to heal your gunshot wound or wake yourself up when Lacey was here?"
"Weren't you listening? Maman turned off my magic, so I couldn't have used anything if I didn't know I had it, could I? Lacey was aware of my magical capabilities, but she just didn't try hard enough to figure out how to reverse maman's magic."
"Who is your mother, anyhow?"
Belle surprised herself by answering without preamble. "Tinkerbell."
Rumplestiltskin blacked out momentarily. How was this even possible? Tinkerbell has had renegade status for centuries.
He was brought back to reality in an abrupt manner because by his girlfriend's latest sneezing fit. Clearly embarrassed, Belle rejected his attempts to comfort her, so all he could do was watch her ride it out.
"When did your parents even meet?"
She shrugged. "I never asked, but I know that maman has been around for at least four hundred years and stopped aging when she was the age that I am now."
"Why don't you have wings, if you don't mind my asking?"
"I would've inherited them from maman, but hers fell off after she was banished from Neverland, punishment for falling in love with a human. She never told me what happened following that period of time, although I did the math and realized that my father isn't the man she lost her wings for."
Rumplestiltskin mulled this information over, but grew more concerned about Belle's appearance.
"Dearie, are you sure you aren't ill?"
"Yeah, it's just my human half that's making the sneezing fits happen." Belle sighed wearily and sat next to him. "How much do you know about pixies?"
"Why?"
She chose her words carefully. "Rumple, I'm having sneezing fits in lieu of morning sickness."
For the second time in five minutes, Rumplestiltskin was shocked into silence but before he could formulate a proper answer, Belle's phone was ringing and she was answering it, her tone coming out in a snarl when she recognized the caller.
"What do you want, pirate?"
She listened, eyes widening as Hook spoke.
"Alright. Thank you."
She was quiet for a minute, processing what Hook had said to her.
"Apparently, my father's passed out again, but this time not only was he drunk, he was also knocked unconscious."
"Hook found him, then?"
"And so did Regina because they were out for a walk in the woods."
Rumplestiltskin shuddered. "I'll never get used to those two being friends."
"Nor I." Belle agreed. "My father isn't all that they found, though."
"They found Tinkerbell."
"They did, and I'm still trying to figure out what my parents were doing in the woods together, anyway."
"There's only one way to find out." He squeezed her hand gently. "Let me find my car keys."
When the pair arrived at the hospital, they were met in the lobby by Doctor Whale and Mother Superior.
"Wh-where are my parents?" Belle stuttered.
"Your father is in the general care ward, getting treatment for all of the alcohol he consumed. Would you like to see him?"
"Is his life in danger?"
"Not anymore, no."
"Then I'd rather not see him. Where is my mother?"
"In the intensive care room."
"What? Why?"
"She was in a physical fight of some sort with Moe, and now her body is reacting oddly to the medicine that we've been giving her; it's rejecting it."
Belle felt her stomach sink. "Is my mother awake?"
Doctor Whale shook his head. "She was when she was brought in, but she took one look at Moe and started screaming hysterically in French. We had to sedate Alina, and that's the only thing that's actually worked. Alina is heavily sedated as we speak."
"Alina?" echoed Belle.
"That's the name on her file."
Belle briefly wondered why her mother had a preexisting file, but let it go, asking a new question.
"Where are Hook and Regina now?"
"They are with Alina." supplied Mother Superior. "When last we saw them, the queen was watching the door while Hook was keeping a vigil at her bedside. Alina has also been repeating the name Jolie in her sleep, despite the sedation. Does that name mean anything to you?"
"No." Belle confessed, feeling oddly sad. "Please take us to her."
Upon entering Tinkerbell's room, Belle's first instinct was to run to the bed, but she couldn't get very far because Doctor Whale was holding her back.
"No, Belle! Look at her; something's wrong!"
A pink electric-like source was enveloping Tinkerbell's body, washing over her. Belle knew exactly what was going on. Her mother was trying to heal herself, but it wasn't working.
Sensing Belle's distress, Rumplestiltskin manipulated Whale's arms with magic so that Belle was able to break free. The next thing Belle knew, she was climbing into bed with Tinkerbell and she lay on her side, facing her. Tuning out the other four people in the room, she delved deep inside her soul, trying to tap into her own magic.
"Please, maman!" she whispered, sounding like a frightened child. "I'm here now; let me help!"
It took another moment of coaxing before Belle felt something like a gentle electric shock jolt her body, but that was exactly what she'd been waiting for because now the same electric-like current cocooning her mother's body was doing the same to her own.
Excited, but reminding herself to be patient, Belle touched her hand to her mother's heart and waited.
But still, the excitement remained.
Belle's magic was back in full swing.
At the Charmings' loft, Emma was now carrying a fully bathed and changed Jolie around on her hip. Because Emma didn't have any toddler sized clothes or diapers on hand, Jolie was dressed in one of Emma's oversized t-shirts and had another one duct taped around her little bottom, just in case. The bath had woken Jolie up a little more and she showed it by tightening her legs around Emma's waist every time she tried to sit down. Ruby, still a wolf, was watching almost lazily from her spot on the floor by the furnace.
"Come on!" Emma begged. "My arms are getting tired, so I have to put you down!"
"No." Jolie dug her knee into Emma's torso. "No."
"At least stop doing that with your knee."
Jolie's accent became thicker when she applied emphasis. "Non!"
"But there's a baby in my tummy, though."
A big smile crept over Jolie's face and she didn't say anything, but she relaxed her grip on Emma's waist.
"Thank you, sweetie." Emma kissed the top of the little girl's head, wondering fleetingly what Henry had been like at this age. "Now I just have to figure out how to explain you and Ruby to Henry, David and Mary Margaret…"
"Henny, 'Avi, Ma' Maggie?"
"That's really close! Great job!"
Jolie trilled happily but at that precise moment, the front door opened and the three aforementioned people entered, chattering happily with each other. They stopped short when they saw the little girl in Emma's arms.
"Something you want to tell us?" David joked.
"Everyone, this is Jolie." Emma enlightened them and then kissed the girl again, murmuring softly to her. "Can you say hi to my family?"
Suddenly feeling extremely shy, Jolie rested her head on Emma's shoulder and waved at them. Henry approached first.
"I always wanted a baby sister. She's cute."
Emma's heart clogged at her son's admission because unbeknownst to him, there was a fifty-fifty chance that he'd actually get his wish.
"Slow down, kid. Jolie already has parents."
"Then where did they go?"
"I'm honestly not sure."
She looked over at Mary Margaret, who hadn't said a word since she saw Jolie.
"Are you okay?"
Mary Margaret plastered on a smile that Emma didn't buy for a second. "I'm alright, Emma. How did Jolie get here? Show up at the door?"
"I hate clichés, but yes, and she was covered in twigs, leaves, dirt and poop—"
"Overshare!" Henry interjected.
"That'll be fun to clean up…" David muttered.
"I already did, as you can see, and I disposed of all the dirty things in the garbage shoot in the hallway." Emma reassured her father. "You'll all be surprised when I say who brought Jolie here, though."
"Who?" the chorused.
"Ruby."
Remembering that the wolf was there, Jolie slid out of Emma's arms and wrapped her own arms around Ruby's neck when she came to stand next to Emma, and buried her face in the thick warm fur. It went without question that the wolf and toddler were already developing a bond that was sure to last a lifetime.
"I don't know how, but Ruby and Jolie and brought her here."
"Is it just me," Henry said suddenly. "Or does Jolie look like Belle's mini carbon copy?"
He had a valid point—Jolie looked identical to what Belle must have looked like at age two.
"She does, kid. Is it possible that Belle has a daughter, or maybe even a sister?"
"Emma, this is Storybrooke." David quipped. "Anything, even a toddler and a werewolf being buddies, is possible."
Ruby was now curled up on the floor, with Jolie using her as a makeshift pillow. Both friends looked content.
"I can't argue with that logic." Emma dug her phone out of her pocket and began dialing. "I guess I'll call Belle now."
However, it wasn't Belle who answered. "This is Belle's phone."
Emma rolled her eyes. "Gold, why do you have your girlfriend's phone?"
"Because she's indisposed at the moment—"
His words were cut off by a "I am not! You give me my phone this instant!" from Belle in the background, quickly followed by a muffled thud before Emma heard Belle's voice in her ear.
"Good evening, Emma."
"What was that thud just now?"
"Nothing to worry about." She said coolly.
"I need you to come over to my parents' place, pronto."
Belle hesitated. "It can't wait?"
Jolie was now making herself comfortable against Ruby and was being lulled to sleep by Mary Margaret, who had spread a blanket over her and was now sitting next to her, telling her a story and stroking her long brown curls.
"It actually can't. The sooner you get here, the better."
"Okay, Emma. We'll be there soon."
It wasn't until Emma was outing her phone back in her pocket that she'd realized what Belle had said.
We.
Great—Gold was coming, too.
Can this night get any worse?
