Author's note: Hey guys! Here is my next deleted scene, and it takes place a week before the wedding.
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It was a week before the wedding, and Belle had been taken out by Ruby and the girls for her bachelorette party, leaving Rumple sitting at home.
Looking around his living room, Rumple was struck by how quiet it was. He didn't begrudge his fiancé her time with her friends, but he did miss her.
A knock at the door broke him out of his thoughts.
"Hey Papa, surprise" Bae grinned, holding up a bottle as he entered the house, followed closely by Prince Charming, Pinocchio, The Mad Hatter, Jiminy Cricket and Doctor Frankenstein.
"What is all this?" Rumple queried as Bae raided glasses from the kitchen as the others each took a seat in the living room.
"Bachelor party!" Jefferson answered with a dramatic flourish of his hands, his old self for a moment.
Rumple was stunned.
"What?"
"It was Bae's idea," August pointed to the man in question.
"Thank you, my friend," Bae's voice was thick with sarcasm before turning to his indignant father.
"Bae," Rumple began slowly, "I told you I didn't need one."
"Which is why this was a surprise," Bae explained casually, "as I knew you'd say 'no' otherwise."
"Come on, Gold," David encouraged. "You're getting married this week."
"To a very beautiful woman," Victor added. "Lucky bastard," he muttered, flinching slightly at the look Rumple threw at him.
"And so, this should be the night that we celebrate the coming union," Archie finished sincerely.
Victor coughed slightly as he downed his first glass and poured himself a second.
"I meant the wedding," Archie sighed at the immaturity.
"I know," Victor nodded as he took a sip.
"Dad," Bae stepped forward quickly before his father could kick anyone out. "As your Best Man, this is one of my duties, and I really wanted to do this for you," he said earnestly, "because I love seeing how happy you are with Belle."
"I am happy, Bae, that's why I don't need a party," Rumple tried to explain. "A bachelor party is for a man who's going to miss that life, whereas I cannot wait to be married."
"So...see it as a farewell, then," Bae suggested, handing his father a glass. "Good riddance to the single life."
Seeing the determination behind his son's smile, Rumple took the glass in his hand.
"Good riddance to the single life," he echoed, raising his glass.
"Good riddance!" The other men echoed as they shared the toast.
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Belle sat in the Charming's living room, a glass of wine in hand. She'd never really had a 'girls' night' before, let alone a bachelorette party, but she had to admit that the stories and the laughter were making it an enjoyable night.
"Okay, Belle, I can't take it anymore" Ruby began. "I have to ask you something which has been bugging me, and I think all of us, for ages."
"What's that?" Belle asked warily.
"What was it about Gold that made you fall in love with him?" Ruby demanded.
Belle laughed as the women in the room all nodded.
"Yeah," Ella added. "I mean, this is the man who deals for children."
"And orchestrates events to suit his agenda," Emma added wryly.
Belle shook her head.
"That's the thing," Belle answered thoughtfully. "They way you see him is the only way anyone has ever seen him: As the Dark One. Whereas I," Belle continued, "see the man underneath all of that."
"And that man is?" Snow asked curiously.
"A man with a true heart," Belle answered simply. "When I first began to work as his caretaker, at the Dark Castle, I dropped a cup, chipping it." Belle explained, and the other women in the room sat up, eager to gain an insight into this complex man.
"After I left his service, the Queen abducted me and told Rumple that I was dead. He kept the cup with him," Belle smiled softly. "He kept the cup, and even brought it to this place. He told me that of all the things he kept in his shop, that cup was the only thing that he truly cherished."
"Because it reminded him of you," Snow smiled.
"And that is the man that I see," Belle nodded. "He's not perfect by any means," she granted. "But even the wrong choices he makes are often with the best intentions."
"Like sacrificing the Enchanted forest to come here to find his son?" Emma asked.
"Uh, yes." Belle nodded slowly. "Exactly like that."
The room was silent for a moment as everyone took a pensive sip of wine.
"Okay," Snow announced, breaking up the atmosphere. "I have something to show you, Belle."
Hurrying into her room, Snow soon came back, carrying a necklace in her hands.
"This necklace," Snow explained as she sat next to the Bride-to-be, "used to belong to David's mother." She smiled fondly. "It was spelled by a gypsy to be able to predict the sex of your first born, even before you became pregnant."
"And it works?" Belle asked, a smile appearing on her face.
"Well, it worked with Ruth's twin boys," Snow explained, "and it also predicted that my firstborn would be a girl," she added, smiling at Emma. "You just hold it above your hand, and if it swings east to west, it's a girl. north to south, it's a boy."
"So, let's test it then," Emma said, holding out a hand toward her mother.
"You already know what your first born is," Ruby objected.
"Exactly," Emma said. "So, if it swings north to south, we'll know that it works."
Snow hung the pendant over her daughter's hand, and the necklace began to swing north to south.
"A boy!" Snow announced, "It works."
"Wait," Ella interjected, holding out her hand. "One more test before we use it on the bride, I think."
Snow held the necklace over Ella's hand, and the pendant began to swing east to west.
"A girl!" Snow announced with a smile, before turning back to Belle.
"And now, the Bride- to-be."
Belle smiled in anticipation as she held out her hand.
Snow dangled the pendant over Belle's palm, and after a moment, the pendant began to swing from east to west.
"A girl!" Belle gasped as tears sprang unbidden to her eyes. "We're going to have a little girl!"
"Congratulations," Ella smiled.
"Neal's going to be a big brother," Emma added. "He'll love that."
"I'm going to be a mother," Belle whispered, a little overwhelmed by the idea. "I grew up without a mother," she said quietly. "I wouldn't really know how to be one."
"I'm sure you're going to be a wonderful mother, Belle." Snow told her friend as she took the young woman's hands in her own.
"No one tell Rumple though, okay?" Belle asked, casting her eyes around the room until everyone nodded their agreement.
"It'll just be between us girls," Ruby assured her friend.
Belle couldn't wipe the smile from her face for the rest of the night. Not only was she getting married in a week, but she now knew that she was going to be a mother one day.
'Rumple will be so happy,' she thought as Emma dropped her home later that night. 'He would love the chance to be a father again.'
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Author's note: Okay, I know it's a bit short. I had wanted to make it longer, but as much as I liked the idea of Rumple and Belle having their Stag/Hen parties, it wasn't a fully developed concept, as I wanted to focus primarily on the wedding. I loved the idea of Bae organising a Bachelor party for his father, and the other OUAT guys joining in, as I don't think we really get to see the OUAT guys really working together on anything.
I also loved the idea of Belle's Bachelorette party, as I'm sure that the other women of Once would love to finally hear about the 'man behind the monster' that Belle fell in love with. I also like the idea of Snow using Ruth's necklace -as we saw in 'Lady of the Lake'- to show Belle what her first born would be as something of a bridal gift.
What do you think?
