Thank you Queen of Light 17 for reviewing! It'll be a while until the whole family's together again.

Thank you Grace5231973 for reviewing! Bae and Iris are going to make great siblings if I have any say in it, which I do, so they will.

Thank you Alex Beckett for reviewing! Belle wouldn't really lose it like break down in tears or anything, but I'm sure the pressure would eventually get to her. Nnn, I guess I can give into fanservice just this once.

Belle was pleasantly surprised with how helpful her stepson was with Iris and the shop. The man never failed to entertain his sister or take care of a customer whenever Belle was busy. The people around town had been surprised to see him back when he first made his presence known to everyone, but soon welcomed him with open arms once more. Many were hesitant at first since he was the Dark One's son, but Belle quickly squashed all negative thoughts of Neil by telling them that Neil hated magic and only used it when in desperate need, unlike his father that used it whenever possible. After he had settled in, he told Belle a bit more about his time in the Enchanted Forest with Aurora and Mulan and just how he had managed to find another magic bean to come home with after visiting his father's castle and finding the clues the older man had left behind using blood magic. It had been a difficult task as far as Belle could gather from the bits and pieces of his journey that he actually told her about and the few new scars she saw on him.

Belle was glad to have him back though, since he was just a bit more of her True Love beside her to give her hope that he would return to them someday even as more years passed by. Day after day, Belle hoped for some kind of sign that her family would come home, even hiding it from Iris as the little girl grew older and more perceptive about her surroundings. Belle couldn't help but feel a bit sad whenever she saw her daughter act like Rumpelstiltskin even though the little girl had never met her father.

"Mama, can I learn to fight?" Iris asked one day when Belle was brushing out the now six year old's long hair before braiding it. Belle was startled at the question and wasn't quite sure how to answer it. "Bael fights a lot, so can I learn?"

Belle paused to think about the sword fighting that Baelfire often did in their back yard whenever they took breaks from the shop. He said that they never knew when they would need to fight again and he would rather keep up with the skills Mulan had taught him than have to relearn if something happened. She couldn't see why something would happen when they had their barrier, but she left him be since he seemed to enjoy it and it distracted him from negative thoughts about their family.

"Maybe when you're a little older," Belle finally answered the girl that was still staring at her through the mirror. "Your brother would hurt you if you tried to learn now."

"Bael would not," Iris pouted, crossing her arms over her tiny chest. Belle frowned at the action, having rarely seen Iris want something so much that she would actually pout when she couldn't have it. "He's good at fighting."

"I'll talk to him about it, but I'm not saying yes until I know for sure you won't get hurt," Belle told her in a stern voice. Iris got a thoughtful look on her face for a moment before she nodded her understanding. "We'll talk to Bael about it at lunch, but only if you behave like a good girl until then."

"May I go to Miss Ruby's then?" Iris requested hopefully. Belle frowned at her daughter, wondering why she was being so exceptionally greedy today.

"I don't see why not, but you better not get in her's or Granny's way like you did last time," Belle warned the little girl. "If you cause trouble again, you can kiss your chances of Bael teaching you good bye."

"I'll be good," Iris promised. Belle allowed her daughter to run over to the cafe shortly after they finished breakfast, having told the girl that she would be over there for lunch.

"Hey, Be-Mom," Neil said as he entered the shop as she was checking on everything as busy work since she already knew that everything was perfectly fine and in the exact places she had left them due to her connection with the shop. Belle smiled slightly towards him, chuckling softly at his slip up. It had taken Neil a few years to get used to the idea that Belle was his father's True Love, but he gradually grew to be like her own son even if he was technically older than her. She still found it amusing how he would slip up when he tried to call her since he wasn't too sure how he felt about her even now.

"Bael," Belle greeted and paused in her work as he set down his things behind the counter. He turned to her and immediately frowned when he saw the worried look on her face.

"Did something happen with Iris?" Neil asked, worried about his little sister since he didn't see or hear her anywhere.

"Oh no, she's with Ruby," Belle said, waving off his concern with a small laugh. "But, well, I guess something did happen."

"What's up?" Neil asked, his brows furrowing in confusion as he tried to make sense of his stepmother's words.

"She wants you to teacher her how to sword fight," Belle said quickly, unsure of how to approach the topic with him. Neil seemed to think over the request for a moment before he shrugged.

"Sure, I don't see why I can't," he said, smiling slightly at his stepmother.

"Are you sure she won't just get hurt? She is a bit young," Belle said worriedly, not wanting her precious daughter to get hurt. "I know you would never mean to hurt her, but I'm not completely sure she won't cause a situation where she will get hurt."

"I'll keep an eye on her," Neil promised, placing a comforting hand on the smaller woman's shoulder. "I learned how to sword fight from the Lost Boys and Mulan, teaching my little sister how to fight shouldn't be too hard after that."

Belle's lips twitched into a smile as she looked up at him. In many ways she saw his father in him and saw just how her True Love could love him and be proud of him so much. Neil was like the perfect son that any parent could love.

"Just protect the last bits of your father I have," Belle said softly, feeling the weight of not having her True Love around for the last few years. Every day she prayed that he would find his way home, but every day she found that he wasn't there to greet her. At this point, the only thing keeping her going without her love was their daughter and the bits of him she saw in his children.

"He'll come back, Belle," Neil said, picking up on the brunette's sadness and giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "He and Emma aren't the type to just leave people waiting. They'll come home and we'll be a family again."

"When will that be though?" Belle whispered sadly, sniffling when she heard the door chime to let them know someone had come into the shop. Belle composed herself before she headed to check on whoever had come in, relieved that she had Neil at her side to help her since he too was missing his True Love like her.