7

A Visit Between Friends

The Hoppers arrived just before 1 PM the following day. Belle greeted their guests in the parlor. "Bonnie, Archie, I am so glad you came to see us. I know how busy you are this time of year!" she said joyfully and hugged them.

"I was just telling Archie the other day that we needed to come out to see you," Bonnie admitted. "And Shane loves coming here to play with Aurelia…having our home in town there's little he can do outside."

They glanced out the window to see the children playing in the snow with Bae and Emma.

"Emma seems to be doing well here," Archie observed. She'd been outside when they arrived and the couple would get the chance to meet her once she returned to the house. He took the box holding the necklace out of his bag and set it down on the table. "Belle, I don't know if you're aware of it but Bae came to the shop to ask me to add another inscription to the one you planned to make. It's a bit ahhh…intimate."

"We're aware Bae and Emma are starting to have feelings for each other," Belle smiled. "They remind me of another young couple who needed a bit of a push to follow their hearts."

"We did tell Bae our story in hopes that it would help," Bonnie confessed. "I hope we weren't overstepping our bounds."

"Not at all. Rumple and I decided to observe them for a bit before we approached them and they seem to be getting along well."

"But with Emma facing trial…"

"Archie, Emma is guilty of far less than Hook and his ilk. I only hope they're found soon."

"Belle, I fear my mother may accuse Emma of stealing her brooch when she is on the stand. That's just the type of person she is but Archie can verify that she was stealing his coin purse at the time."

"And Bae returned it yesterday."

Belle opened the velvet case and picked up the pendant. 'Love is hope, it fuels our dreams and my heart has found its home' it read along with all their names. "Oh Archie this is perfect!"

"Talking with your son yesterday made me realize that the advice you gave us all those years ago applied to their situation." Archie chuckled. "We also mentioned the long list of arguments you made that day at the picnic."

"Rumple wrote them out for me."

She handed them their cups of tea. "There's another reason why I'm glad you came out here. I wanted you to be the first to know that we're trying to add on to the family. I know I've had…difficulties in the past but I want to try…one more time."

"Archie, I must ask your permission to break my vow," Bonnie said softly.

"Why would you need my permission?"

"Because you are my husband and it was to you that I made this vow."

"If I'm not mistaken your vow that was that you would only use your fae magic for good and for that you don't need my permission. Now if you wished to use dark magic…by the goddess I sound like Rumple!"

"Bonnie, why would you need to break a vow?" Belle asked.

"Archie and I owe our happiness to you my dear and for years I've wanted to repay the debt we owe you. Now I can. I am a descendant of Lucina, the fae of wishes. If you want another child you shall have it."

"Bonnie's been thinking about this for years," Archie confessed. "Once she learned of your previous…issues with having children. But you never spoke of trying again until now."

"Bonnie, you don't have to do this…" Belle whispered.

"But I will…because you are my dearest friend." She placed her hand over Belle's abdomen and began to chant in the ancient fae language a spell taught to her in her youth, pleading with her ancestress to grant her request. Archie watched in amazement as her hand glowed with a bright white light. Seconds later it vanished. Bonnie opened her eyes and smiled. "You will have another stocking to hang above the hearth before the next Yuletide."

Belle burst into tears and hugged her friend. "Bonnie, I…I..don't know what to say…"

"You don't need to say anything. This is our gift to you, to all of you. You won't lose this child Belle. Lucina's wishes are always granted."

"Mama, Papa, we made some stuff out in the snow!" Shane exclaimed when he raced into the room.

"Oh Shane, look what you've done!" Bonnie cried in dismay, pointing to the muddy footprints on the carpet. "You know you are supposed to take off your boots when you come in!"

"M'sorry Missus Gold," he said sheepishly, his head bowed in shame.

"Oh it's all right."

"Mama, why are you crying?" Bae asked worriedly.

"A woman can cry when she's happy Bae," Belle answered, grabbing the box with the necklace off the table and handing it to him. "Would you take that to your father for me please? He'll need to wrap it."

He smiled. "Sure, Mama."

"Missus Gold we made one of those birdies that Miss Emma likes!"

"We tried to," Aurelia giggled.

"Emma, I'd like you to meet Archie and Bonnie Hopper, our dearest friends," Belle lead the nervous girl over to where the Hoppers were sitting. She held out a trembling hand to them.

"It's ahhh….very nice to meet you," she croaked.

Bonnie shook her hand first. "And we've heard so much about you Emma. You've done well here with the Golds."

"They've been good to me. Mister Hopper, I'm sorry about your purse…"

"You returned it so no harm done," Archie shook her hand gently. "You couldn't have asked for a better family to sponsor you."

"No, I couldn't," she admitted.

"Well, why don't we go outside and see what you made," Belle said softly.

While the rest of the family went outside, Bae tapped on the door of Rumple's study, where he was finishing up his closing statement. "Come in,' Rumple called.

"Papa, it's me," Bae entered, the box held in one hand.

"Ah. You've brought me a Yule gift to wrap," his father said knowingly. Rumple was the best at wrapping presents in the house. He enjoyed it, saying it relaxed him.

"Yes. Archie came and brought it."

"I thought I heard his voice downstairs," Rumple took the box and stored it in a locked drawer in his desk. "I'll go down in a few minutes and greet them." He shoved the parchment., quill and ink to one side and said, "Bae, sit down. I need to discuss something with you."

"Am I in trouble, sir?" his son asked warily.

His father raised an eyebrow. "Have you done anything to get in trouble?"

No, not unless you count kissing Emma, his son thought rebelliously. He eyed his father, wondering if the elder Gold knew about the kiss. Then he decided his papa would be far less serene than he seemed if he knew his heir had been sparking with his client who was a known criminal.

He shook his head. "No,Papa."

"Good. Because I need to discuss an important issue with you. Close the door, please." Once Bae had done so, Rumple continued. "It occurred to me, son, that once you go off to the academy in the autumn, you'll be faced with a lot more . . . shall we say . . . opportunities to meet young ladies than around Silver Falls. And while I know I've told you before how to treat a lady, and if you ever get a girl pregnant out of wedlock I will personally tie you to a post and whip you within an inch of your life."

"I know, sir," Bae said, swallowing at the grim look his father was giving him. He had no doubt that despite Mr. Gold's aversion to using corporal punishment for most offenses, the former cavalry commander wouldn't hesitate to do so for an offense of this magnitude.

"Women are to be treated with respect and dignity at all times, Baelfire," Rumple lectured. "I know we've had this discussion before, but I want to reiterate it. "

For a moment Bae panicked. Oh gods, he DOES know! he considered confessing for a frantic moment, staring at his father across the desk. But Rumple was as serene as a statue. "Okay, Papa. I'll remember." His ears burned recalling how after that Rumple had spoken about sex, concisely and bluntly.

Rumple cleared his throat. "Now . . .I want to remind you that even when you're madly in love with someone, you need to practice restraint and decorum. Not just for yourself but for the lady. It only takes five seconds in the wrong place at the wrong time doing something compromising to ruin a girl in the eyes of society."

"I understand," Bae replied, thinking, but Emma doesn't have a sterling reputation to begin with.

"Good. Because your mama and I didn't raise you to be a hellion, and treat a woman like a pair of pants, throwing her away and discarding her once you've had your fun."

"Papa! I'd NEVER-"

Rumple crossed his arms. "You say that now, but I know what young men are like when they get in a crowd. Or drink too much. They tend to forget all their manners and just think with their privates."

Bae went red at this frank speech. "Papa, I swear . . . I'm not like all those other fellows. I don't drink and don't smoke a pipe or any of those foreign substances from the Eastern Kingdoms. And I don't hurt girls. My backside hasn't forgotten that paddling you gave me when I was ten and shoved snooty Cora Miller in the mud." He grimaced. Though to this day he still thought the girl had deserved it for calling Rumple a pathetic cripple.

To his relief his papa smiled and said, "While I know you won't believe this, lad, that paddling hurt me more than you. I know the Miller girl riled you and you were trying to defend me, but you went about it the wrong way. So I had to drive my lesson home in a way you'd not forget next time some girl taunted you and made you lose your temper. I saw too many cases of men when I served in the army who struck and beat women to a pulp when they became angry with them for various reasons. They were drunk, the girl in question was only a whore, the woman refused their advances, she said something that angered them-the list of excuses was longer than my arm. And I abhor violence towards women. You know why, don't you, dearie?"

Bae nodded. "Yes, sir. You told me that when you were growing up, you saw your papa hit your mama."

"I did," Rumple said heavily. "I was only a wee lad of six, but I never forgot that evening. My mama asked my papa if he would please stop going to his club because she had invited some friends over for dinner, and he had been drinking, flew into an insane rage, and smacked her to the floor. I think, though I can't be sure, that wasn't the only time he struck her. But it was the first time I saw it. And I never forgot it. Especially because I lost my mother a few years later to a fever. My father was a cold hard man, and I never could please him, no matter how I tried."

His expressive eyes darkened with remembered pain. "My mother was kind and gentle soul, I really don't know how she tolerated my father. But she left me with a love of books, horses, and respect for women. And it's that respect that I now wish to pass on to you, Bae."

"You have, Papa. Anyone who grew up at Rose Heart knows how to treat a lady," Bae said simply.

Rumple looked pleased. "Then I've done one thing right. Just remember though, society will allow you more leeway as a man than it will a woman as far as propriety goes, Bae. A man can have many mistresses in or out of wedlock-like your grandfather did after your grandmother passed. But a woman must come virgin to her husband and even as a widow, must not be seen as free with her favors to men. And society allows a man to have affairs when married but a woman is labelled a harlot. And once a woman has a reputation, it's damned hard to erase it. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Yes, Papa. But . . . don't you think that's kind of unfair? To have one set of rules for us and another for women?"

"I do, son. But unfortunately, that's how it is in this kingdom and elsewhere. And change comes slowly. So we must work within the rules."

"Okay, Papa. I'll remember," his son acquiesced, all the while wondering if his father could possibly know about him and Emma. Rumplestiltskin was a very astute man, sometimes Bae felt like his father could read his mind. But his papa had not said anything about Emma to him directly. Which meant that his secret was still safe. He would need to explain the rules to Emma next time he could get her alone. "I'm gonna go back downstairs and have some lunch with the Hoppers."

"You do that, Bae. I'll be down shortly after I wrap this," Rumple waved him away, relieved his talk had gone so well. "Tell Archie and Bonnie I'll see them soon."

Rumple watched his son leave, then carefully unlocked the drawer and took out the necklace, admiring the way the light played upon the beautiful swan, and then turning it over to read the engraving Belle had placed there. He grinned. "Perfect, dearie. I think that our wild swan will agree."

The pile of snow on the lawn was no swan by any means nor did it resemble any kind of bird. The parents were at a loss for words to describe what it was.

"Well it's ah…." Belle stammered.

The Hoppers looked at each other helplessly.

"It's really terrible!" Aurelia laughed.

"Looks more like a pile of manure!" Emma snickered. .

"It looks like that big pile of junk in the workshop!" Shane laughed.

"Yeah not our best work Mama," Bae said as he approached them. "Papa said he'll see you soon Mister Hopper."

"Well you made an effort at least," Belle smiled at her children.

Bonnie scooped up some snow and threw it at her husband.

"Bonnie!"

"Haven't you learned to watch your back by now?" she teased.

"Have your jest desserts my Bonnie Blue!" Archie dumped a pile of snow on his wife's head.

Bae scooped up more snow and began to chase Emma around the lawn. "Gonna get you Swan!"

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Not if I put you out first...Baelfire!"

Shane and Aurelia started making snow angels on the ground while their parents held a snowball battle.

"Ohhh where is that husband of mine when I need him!" Belle moaned as one of Bonnie's snowballs struck her in the shoulder.

"You're the ones that taught us this!" Archie reminded her.

"And I'm beginning to regret it!" Belle tossed another snowball. "Oh that's cheating!" she accused when Archie held up his umbrella as a shield.

"Tell that to your husband who uses his cane as a bat!"

Emma and Bae paused in their play to watch, smiling. "You think that's gonna be us a few years down the road?" Emma mused aloud.

"We can still be playful even when we're old and gray and losing all our teeth."

If I live that long….

No…Rumple will help me. I just have to believe.

Bae put his arm around her shoulders. "Everything's gonna work out Emma. I know it is. My papa's a smart man and he's working hard on your defense. You'll be back home with us faster than you can blink."

"This feels like home to me Bae and now that I'm here….I don't wanna be anywhere else," Emma confessed.

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else either."

Though she felt safe in his arms and among his family, part of her worried that Killian Jones would one day come back to try to take her away with him again.

I would rather die, she thought and laid her head on Bae's shoulder.

Belle called an end to the snowball war and they all went inside for lunch. Mrs Potts came out of the kitchen and frowned at them. "Look at the lot of you! Soaked to the skin and tracking water all over my clean floors," she teased.

"You've seen worse," Bae joked.

"Don't remind me you scamp! It took me all day to get the stench out of the house."

"Something you have to tell me Bae?" Emma inquired with a grin.

"Oh…ah….well….I was ahhh…outside mucking the horse stall and forgot to take off my boots before I came in and I ahhh…."

"He tracked dung all through the house!" Aurelia giggled. "And it really smelled bad!"

"Papa stepped in dung once and brought it in the house," Shane piped up. "And Mama made him wash the floor."

"And I wasted a whole bottle of Belle's Dearie scent to get the stink out!" Bonnie complained. "That reminds me Belle, I'd like to buy another bottle."

"And I keep telling you there's no need to buy it from me, accept it as a gift."

She couldn't wait to tell Rumple that their dream of having another child would soon come true.

"My stomach tells me it's lunchtime,"said a familiar voice, and Rumple limped into the room, wearing black breeches, a golden-yellow tunic, leather vest and mulberry cloak spun out of mohair. "Hello, Archie. You're looking in fine fettle today, dearie." He clasped the other's hand warmly. "Thank you for the delivery."

"It was no trouble at all, Rumple," Bonnie assured him.

"And you, Bonnie, are still lovely enough to make bluebell weep," he grinned, and bowed over her hand and kissed it, his brown eyes twinkling. He loved playing the courtier with her, it tickled his fancy.

"You're making my husband jealous!" Bonnie giggled.

"Really, dearie? Jealous of this veteran attorney with a gimpy leg?" Rumple giggled.

"She just says that to tease me," Archie spoke up.

"Well, you are fun to tease," his friend smirked. Then he straightened and called, "Shane, lad, are you here or did you get lost in a snowdrift?"

"Here Mister Gold!" Shane waved his small hand. "We tried to make a bird like the swan but it looked really bad."

"Did you? Let me see it. Sometimes the snow decides the shape of a creature."

"We messed it up throwing snow at each other."

"Ah too bad. Perhaps we'll build another one after lunch?" he suggested. "I'll help you."

"Papa makes the best snow animals," Aurelia said, coming over to hug him.

"And you better help me win a war against these two!" Belle gestured to the Hoppers. "They defeated me!"

"Now we can't have that can we?" Rumple said, a glint in his eye. "No one beats a Gold on his home ground."

"We intend to change that," Bonnie challenged.

"Be my guest, dearie." Rumple invited. "But first, let's eat. I smell Cuisinaire's hot roast beef sandwiches, dripping with gravy on homemade rolls." His nose twitched appreciatively.

"Will the rolls be soft or hard as rocks like Mama's?" Shane asked.

"Shane!" Archie exclaimed.

"Well that's what you said when Mama burned hers last week."

"And almost had to sleep in the den for it too."

"I would burn water," Emma admitted.

"Not these rolls, lad. Cuisinaire's a master chef, he should have been working for the palace but he refused, saying he didn't enjoy cooking for persnickety royals, and he chose to come work for me instead," Rumple chuckled. "But wait till you taste them . . . they're delicious!"

"I'm still grateful you sent Mrs. Potts to teach me to cook Rumple otherwise my poor husband would've starved to death," Bonnie chuckled.

"I was happy to do so," the master of Rose Heart said. "Before we hired Cuisinaire, Mrs. Potts cooked for us, but once we had Bae and Aurelia, we realized she might be wanting a break from cooking, so we asked her to be our head housekeeper and surrogate nanny when Belle returned to tutoring after Aurelia was walking. She was happy to assist you. She taught Belle how to cook when she was still a maid in Maurice's house."

"I want to learn how to cook," Emma said. "I mean...someday when I have a family of my own..." She blushed.

"You can have lessons, dearie, with Mrs. Potts on Cuisinaire's day off. If she agrees to that. Cuisinaire's too impatient to instruct a youngster like you, and he's very particular about his kitchen. In the beginning I had to mediate between them," Rumple said. "But now things run like clockwork."

He inhaled the aroma of roast beef and gravy which increased when Cuisinaire and his helpers brought in a huge platter of roast beef slices dripping with gravy, rolls, parslied potatoes and creamed spinach.

"There's so much I want to do myself. I'm ahh...not really the kind of person who would want someone else to do it for me. Not that...I'm not saying anyone here is lazy..."

Swan, you better start packing because that was the most idiotic thing you've ever said...

"Oh Mister Gold I am so sorry! I can't believe I said that!"

"Emma, I know the way we live here is strange to you, and may seem easy, but the truth is, dearie, without my staff this estate would fall apart. I'm too busy with my practice sometimes to remember to eat until I'm passing out. Isn't that right, Belle?"

"Yes it is and you almost did a few times, scaring the daylights out of me. But Emma I applaud you for wanting to be independent. Just remember that no matter how you choose to live your life, there is still a home for you here too."

Bae spoke up. "Papa always told me and Relia that our servants were there to help us, not to be our slaves, and we should appreciate it. They assist us, but we're not dependent on them like my cousin Avery and my aunt and uncle are."

Aurelia made a face. "Avery's spoiled rotten. His parents let him get away with anything if he whines and throws a fit. And his servants get caned if he gets mad at them. He's a little beast."

Rumple sighed. "Unfortunately, sprite, I just received a letter from your Aunt Anne today in the post. And they're coming here for Twelfth Night after all. One of her nobles cancelled their revels due to sickness."

Aurelia groaned. "Aww, Papa! Can we tell them we're all sick too?"

"Yeah, sick of the sight of them, Bae muttered, scowling at his plate.

"That was Lady Du Pres." Bonnie made a face. "Her niece Josette is ill and no one will attend Lady Bouchard's ball since she stole Josette's beau."

"Lady Bouchard has scary eyes Mama," Shane whimpered.

"Like a vampire," Aurelia hissed.

"I've heard stories that she's a witch," Emma murmured.

"Now, dearies, you all know better than to spread rumors. We have no proof she's anything but an unpleasant lady. Anything else is pure speculation," Rumple interjected.

"Well, if Lady Bouchard's a witch, cousin Avery's demonspawn," Bae growled.

"We oughta send for Father Nick," Aurelia smirked.

"Children, enough," Rumple scolded. "I know you don't get along with your cousin. The fact is, your mama and I don't get along all that much better with Aunt Anne and your uncle. The man does nothing but boast about all of his business deals and how he's fleeced someone, but much as I want to tell him to shove it and offer my services as an attorney to the poor bastards he's bamboozeled, I hold my tongue. Because he's family."

"My gramma calls me that cause Mama married Papa stead of a fae," Shane said.

"And it was that awful Bouchard woman that told him that!" Bonnie snarled.

"Pay her no mind dearie. She probably just said it to provoke you. You're a good lad Shane and never let anyone make you believe otherwise."

"Watch your back around Avery, Emma. He's a slippery one," Bae whispered into her ear. She nodded.

They went back outside after lunch to resume their snowball war, the Golds happily chasing their guests around the grounds, Rumple making good on his warning the his family was not so easily defeated on their home ground, forced to bring the game to an early end once the snow began to fall and the Hoppers could get back to town safely.

"You will be here for Twelfth Night," Belle reminded them.

"Of course we will," Bonnie reassured her.

Rumple noticed that his wife was unusually quiet after their friends left.

"Thinking about Anne?" he asked her later on in their bedroom.

"No," she said softly. "I was thinking about…our adding on to the family."

"You're having second thoughts?"

She turned to him, her eyes filled with tears. "Not now darling. You see, one of our dearest friends decided to break her sacred vow not to use her powers to grant us our heart's desire."

"W….What? Belle are you saying that Bonnie…."

"Our child will be born this time Rumple!" she sobbed joyfully.

He took her in his arms and kissed her passionately. "This is the best news I've heard all day sweetheart. When will we tell the children?"

"Let's wait until we're certain I am with child. We may need to…work on it a bit first," she murmured.

"Oh do we now," he purred and laid her down on the bed. "Well, since the weather outside is frightful and the fire is delightful….I'm thinking we should take the rest of the evening to do just that."

"You have a deal Mr. Gold."

A/N: so what did you think of the Hoppers' visit? How diid you like the talk between Rumple and Bae? And Bonnie helping Belle concieve? As always, your reviews and comments are welcome! Or just follow and fav it to read later.