12

A Lost Boy No More

Mouse slept peacefully until the wee hours of the morning, when he suddenly began to have a nightmare about being tied to the whipping tree again, something that seemed to have been invented just so one of the other Lost Boys could punish him, and feeling the blackvine whip biting into him. "No . . . no . . . no . . . please . . . please . . . I'll be good . . . I swear . . ." he whimpered, tossing and turning, gasping for breath as the dream-induced terror brought on an asthma attack. He sucked in a breath, then half-yelled in an attempt to bring Rumple to help him.

Rumple had been dreaming happily of the wedding he and Belle would have in a few months, when his reverie was interrupted by a choked scream. He sat up, fully awake now, muttering, "What in hell . . .?" Hastily dragging on some pajamas which he'd tossed at the foot of the bed, and ignoring the clothes scattered on the floor, he rose and unlocked the door, going to see what was going on with Mouse.

"Mouse? What's wrong?"

He heard a choking sound coming from the sofa and went over to find the little boy all tangled up in the blanket, his eyes wet with tears and gasping for breath.

"R-Rumple . . . h-help . . ."

"Good God! Okay, Mouse. It's okay," Rumple said, going to the boy and gently holding him upright. "Calm down. Shh. Relax, son." He began to rub slow circles on his back, trying to get the child to calm down enough so he could breathe. "What happened?"

Mouse gulped, his breath wheezing in his chest. " I . . . I . . . dreamed . . ."

"Nightmares again?" Rumple murmured, thinking he'd also need to make an appointment with Archie as well as Whale. The boy had nightmares aboard the ship too, but Rumple was always there to comfort him.

"S-sorry . . ." Mouse wheezed miserably.

"No need to be sorry, son. It's not your fault." He summoned the small pouch Tiger Lily had given him of herbs that would help the child breathe easier.

"Rumple?" Belle called, coming out into the living room. "What's wrong?"

"Mouse had a nightmare and it triggered one of his asthma attacks," Rumple answered, holding the little herbal bundle against the boy's nose. "Come on, son. Breathe . . . that's right . . . again . . . it's okay . . . you're safe now . . . nothing's going to hurt you . . . take another breath . . . again . . . good job . . ."

Belle watched in amazement as the pawnbroker gently talked the boy through the wheezing and gasping, holding the child against him and simultaneously rubbing his back. No one would ever believe this, she thought wryly, that the notorious hardnosed Mr. Gold could be so gentle and compassionate to a child not even of his own blood.

Gradually, Mouse's wheezing slowed and he breathed in the medicinal herbs easier. As the airway in his bronchial passages opened again, and the constricting feeling left his chest, the boy quit gasping. His fear of dying eased and now he just felt like a miserable coward, ashamed of his weakness. He took another breath, the healing herbs easing the aching in his chest, and murmured, "M' sorry, Rumple!"

He wasn't sure what he was sorry for right then—the nightmare, getting one of his stupid fits, or waking up Rumple and Belle.

"Shh, lad. It's okay. What'd I tell you? You can wake me up any time, I'll never be angry with you." Rumple soothed.

The soft tone, spoken so understandingly, undid the child's precarious control over his emotions and suddenly he was sobbing into Rumple's shoulder, crying from relief that he wasn't about to be punished for his cowardly behavior and upset that he was bawling like a baby for no reason, yet unable to help himself.

"Rumple, what . . .?" Belle began, feeling helpless as the little boy fell apart in front of her.

Rumple held the child and rubbed his back, whispering, "Okay, son. It's okay. Go on and bawl your head off. It's okay." He looked over at Belle, continuing to comfort the distraught child. "He hasn't cried since it happened, hasn't allowed himself to, I think, so he's overdue for this."

"What? Why?" Belle asked, coming to sit down on the couch beside them, gently patting the boy's back.

"He's probably been teased and mocked for crying, is my guess. Called a coward and a baby," Rumple surmised. He stroked the boy's hair, saying softly, "It's okay to cry, Mouse. There's nothing wrong with it. Tears are your body's way of cleansing poisonous emotions from you, so you don't make yourself sick."

Mouse found this fact so amazing that he quit sobbing so much and whimpered, "They are?"

"Yes. And everybody cries, even if they don't admit it. Everyone," Rumple stressed.

Mouse sniffled and looked up at his new father. "Even you? But . . . you're a sorcerer."

Rumple's mouth twitched into a small smirk. "Aye, lad. Even me. Many times."

Mouse opened his mouth in an "O" of astonishment. "Even . . . Felix?"

"Him too," Rumple nodded. He shifted slightly, so the little boy was snuggled more comfortably against him.

"Crying isn't a weakness, Mouse," Belle added then. "It's a sign of strength. Because it shows you aren't afraid to let people see you're human, like everyone else." Her hand rubbed circles on his back.

Mouse found he liked that idea. "I . . . I dreamed I was back there . . . when Felix was . . . whipping me . . ." he admitted shyly. "And it hurt . . . so bad . . ." Just speaking of it made him choke up.

"Nobody will ever hurt you like that again!" Belle said softly, tears in her own eyes. "I promise you that!"

"And so do I," Rumple reassured him. "Because nobody hurts my son!"

Mouse thrilled to hear Rumple call him that, and more tears ran down his face. This time he didn't attempt to halt them, instead letting himself cry all the tears he had never shed, when he was a lonely miserable slave, the Last Boy, good-for-nothing, weepy, wimpy, Mouse. Because now it was okay, and he wept until he was spent, with Rumple and Belle hugging him in silent approval.

The three fell asleep like that on the sofa, and didn't wake until the middle of the morning, groggy and a little tired, but slowly healing together.

Page~*~*~*~*~*~Break

After some ham, egg, and cheese sandwiches on English muffins, along with some fruit and coffee for the two adults, and orange juice for Mouse, Rumple decided to tackle showing the little boy the bathtub and shower and instructing him on how to use them, as well as giving the child the first bath he'd ever had.

Rumple took the boy into Belle's bathroom, which happened to have a fully equipped bathtub and separate shower unit, rather luxurious by apartment standards, and showed Mouse the wonders of indoor plumbing.

"How's it do that?" was the first question out of the kid's mouth when Rumple showed him the way the water ran out of the faucet.

"It's not magic, it's something called science," the older man explained. "And it's complicated, so don't worry about how it works, just concentrate on learning to use it." He demonstrated the hot and cold taps, on the sink and the tub, showing Mouse how to find a good temperature so it didn't hurt his cuts. "If it's too hot, son, just adjust the cold water," he told the boy.

While the tub was filling up with warm water, the sorcerer showed Mouse how to brush his teeth, the little boy loved the flavor of the toothpaste, and happily brushed until Rumple told him to stop, before he brushed his teeth right off.

"Could I do that?" he cried, half-alarmed, halting with toothpaste running down his chin.

"No, of course not, silly boy," Rumple chuckled. "It was a quip. Now rinse out your mouth and take off your pajamas. The water's nice and warm by now."

Mouse obeyed, then wriggled out of his pajamas.

Rumple grimaced upon viewing the poor boy's back end and reminded himself once more to call Dr. Whale as soon as possible. He helped his new son into the tub, saying, "Too hot?"

Mouse shook his head, an expression of sheer joy spreading across his face. "No! It's . . .wonderful! It's warm!" To someone accustomed to taking a quick wash in freezing cold streams in the early morning, this was like paradise. He slid down into the water. "Ohh!" He sighed, it was like heaven!

"Does that sting your cuts?" Rumple asked, concerned.

Mouse shook his head. Maybe a little, at first, but the sting was quickly gone and the water felt so good he wished he was a fish.

"Okay. Let's get you washed up," Rumple said, and rolled up his sleeves. He pulled a container of coconut scented bodywash to him and showed the boy how to put some on a scrubby sponge and scrub himself all over. "I'll do your back, son, but you can wash everywhere else. I want you to scrub good, till your skin is all pink like a lobster's."

Mouse did, then stood up so Rumple could gently wash his back and bottom, using a soft washcloth dipped into the now soapy water. It stung slightly, and the child squirmed. "Oww!"

"Sorry, but I have to clean these cuts, otherwise they'll get infected. Stand still."

Mouse bit his lip and did as he was told, blinking tears back, until Rumple was finished.

"Done! There's my brave lad," his father praised. "Okay. I'm going to wash your hair next, and then we're going to run some fresh warm water in here and I want you to soak in the water for about twenty minutes."

"Yes, sir."

"Rumple, Mouse," the sorcerer corrected gently. "Or, maybe Papa, when you feel comfortable."

Mouse just nodded, not sure yet about calling the sorcerer that, since he still found it rather unbelievable Rumple could want him as his son.

After Rumple washed his hair, he left the boy alone to soak in the warm water, adding some milk and honey bubble bath, figuring it would help the boy to do so.

Belle met him in the kitchen, making a cup of tea. "Well? How did it go?"

"Not bad. I have him soaking in there. But I need to call Whale, get him checked out, he needs an inhaler at the very least. I probably should make an appointment with Archie also, get him some therapy for those nightmares and whatever else he's endured." He picked up the phone and dialed the two numbers.

Archie said he could fit the boy in at the end of the week, as he was booked with seeing the other Lost Boys, and recommended Gold give the child some herbal tea to help reduce stress and sleep and encourage the boy to talk a bit about his life on Neverland until his appointment. "It's important to establish trust between you," Archie said. "That's the key, I think, to helping him defeat these nightmares."

Gold nodded and told him about the episode this morning, and the therapist said that was a good start.

After that, he called Whale's office, and made an appointment later on that day with him, explaining the situation and Whale assured him Mouse would get the best of care.

That done, Rumple turned to Belle and said, "You know, we really need to give him a new name. I think that'll go a long way to convince him that he's no longer a Lost Boy, but our son."

"I've been thinking about that, Rumple." Belle said. "And here's what I came up with," she showed him a list of ten names she had picked out. "I know how important names are to you, so I wanted to see what you thought of these before we picked one."

Rumple examined the list. "Well, it's traditionally the mother who chooses a child's name when they're born, at least it is where I came from."

"It was in my kingdom as well," Belle asserted.

Rumple perused the list. "I like a lot of these, but I think your first choice is the best."

Belle smiled. "I figured you might. I just hope Mouse will like it also."

"I don't think you need to worry, Belle. He'll like it just because you gave it to him, and someone finally thought him important enough to give him a real name, like every other little boy," Rumple told her earnestly.

After drinking a cup of tea, Rumple said he needed to get Mouse some clothes and went to alter some of his own to fit the child, summoning some soft trousers, a gray T-shirt, a blue and white checkered plaid long-sleeved shirt, socks, and a pair of silky boxers, all shrunk down to fit the boy, but leaving the boxers and trousers slightly larger than necessary. He put the clothes in the bedroom, then went to see how Mouse was doing.

He found the little boy playing with the bottle of bodywash, and smiled as he watched the child for a few moments before calling him to come out. After applying another coating of salve, Rumple gave Mouse his "new" clothes.

"We're going to go shopping for a whole new wardrobe for you, but for now, you can wear these."

"Wow! They're so soft!" the boy hugged them, marveling at the texture. And then again at how they were actually his . . . clothing without rips or tears, that didn't smell unpleasant, like mildew and dirt. These smelled like . . . sunshine and rain.

After getting dressed, Mouse followed Rumple into the den, where Belle was sitting reading a book. She looked up and saw the boy, smiling as she did so. "You look very handsome in your new clothes," she said, thinking that if she didn't know better, she would think Mouse really was related to Rumple. "Come and sit here, Mouse." She patted the couch next to her.

The boy came and gingerly sat down.

Belle waited until he was comfortable before saying, "Now, I'm sure Rumple has told you that we wish you to consider yourself our son, and no longer a Lost Boy. But in order for you to truly do so, we want to give you a new name."

"Really? Peter said . . . he always said I wasn't . . . strong enough or smart enough for any name 'cept Mouse."

Belle scowled. "Well, Peter was wrong. You certainly are deserving of a name, like every other boy!" She said firmly. "In my kingdom, it's tradition for a mother to name her child, unless she is too ill, and then the father does so. Your name is important, because it tells people who you are, and therefore Rumple and I have picked a special name for you, so everyone will know that you belong with us." She gently took the boy's face in her hands and said, "It's custom for a mother to give their child a kiss of welcome before she says his or her name." She bent and kissed Mouse on the forehead, saying, "Welcome, Mathias Gold, son of Belle and Rumplestiltskin Gold, to our family."

The little boy who once was a Lost Boy named Mouse just sat there, stunned. I have a name now. A real name.

"The name Mathias means "a gift from God", "Rumple explained, after also giving him a welcome kiss. "We chose that name because we consider you a gift to us. We hope you like it, son."

Mathias smiled then, a sweet brilliant smile, then his arms went round Rumple's neck first, hugging the sorcerer hard. Then he turned to Belle and hugged her too. "Thank you . . . Mama and Papa," he said, his eyes shining.

"No, thank you, Mathias, for becoming my little boy," Belle said, and there were tears in her eyes as she hugged him back.

Page~*~*~*~*~Break

Belle and Rumple went with Mathias to his appointment with Dr. Whale, staying with the child the entire time Whale was examining him, reassuring and explaining things so he didn't become frightened.

Mathias was wary and afraid at first, but Rumple was there to reassure him, and Whale was both professional and compassionate, saying to Rumple that Mathias' lacerations were extremely well-healed for being only a few days old. "Whatever was in that salve you put on is incredible," Whale said.

"Dryad magic," Rumple remarked.

Belle bit her lip, for she had never seen the cuts until then, and thought they looked terrible, but she supposed that was because she had never seen anyone flogged before, and wondered how on earth anyone could do such a hateful thing to this little boy, who was so gentle and sweet.

"I'm going to give you a script for some silvadeen cream," Whale said. "That's one of the strongest medicines we have, it's used on burn victims, and should help heal up those lacerations right away. I'll give you enough for a month, but you can keep using that other salve till it runs out. I'm also going to give you a ten-day course of antibiotics for him. Make sure he takes them twice a day, with food, otherwise he'll get a stomachache."

"But there's no infection?" Rumple asked.

"No. But better safe than sorry," Whale said. "Here's another script for his inhaler, and you might want to invest in a nebulizer as well, if he gets a really bad attack. But you know, it's very possible he'll grow out of it, a lot of children do. Until then, though, no rough contact sports, or prolonged periods of extensive exercise. I'm also going to suggest you start him on some chewable vitamins, I'll need to draw some blood to see if he has any deficiencies, but in the meantime, vitamins are good." He turned back to his patient, who was lying still as a stone upon the exam table. "Mathias, buddy, can you sit up for me? I need to listen to your heart."

The boy shifted, aided gently by both Whale and Rumple. "My heart?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow. "How can you do that?"

"With this. It's called a stethoscope," Whale said, and showed him it.

Mathias examined the odd contraption curiously. "How's it work?"

"Like this," Whale let him put on his stethoscope, and listen to his heartbeat, Rumple's heartbeat, and Belle's heartbeat.

The little boy was fascinated. "That's so cool!"

Whale grinned. "It is, isn't it? Now let's hear your heartbeat." He took the stethoscope back and listened to Mathias' heartbeat. He then patted the boy's leg. "That's good. You've got a strong heart, young man."

"I do?"

"Yup. Strong as an ox," Whale assured him. "Okay. Now, I have to draw your blood, son, and it might hurt a bit, but if you don't kick or bite me, you'll get a chocolate bar."

The boy looked alarmed, then said, "Okay, sir," trying to be brave.

Whale turned away and called his nurse, pulling on another pair of gloves as he did so. The nurse gently tied a rubber string around Mathias' arm and had the child make a fist, holding a rubber ball. "Okay, sweetie, now look at that while the doctor takes your blood."

"Why do you need my blood? Are you gonna drink it?"

Whale shook his head. "Good Lord, no! I'm not a vampire, kid! There's some tests I need to do on it, to tell me how healthy you are and stuff. Now just stay still." He brought the syringe over and said, "You might feel a sharp pinch, but don't move, okay?"

"It'll be over in a second, son," Rumple said, putting a hand on Mathias' shoulder.

Whale carefully inserted the needle. "A little pinch. Good! There we go!"

Mathias didn't even flinch. He stared at the red blood as the doctor put it in a plastic vial, not understanding what the big deal was. After being beaten half to death, this was nothing! And kids actually made a fuss over this?

"Okay, done." Whale finished drawing the blood and put it on the tray, removing the blue rubber tie around the boy's arm. "You were very good. Martha, get him a Hershey bar. The last kid I had screamed bloody murder and kicked me in the balls . . . err . . . sorry, Belle . . . forgot you were there," Victor coughed, slightly embarrassed.

"Not my son," Rumple said, proudly.

"Here, sweetie," the nurse handed Mathias a Hershey bar.

He took it, then looked at Rumple. "What is it?"

"It's candy. You'll like it," his father said. "Now let's get dressed."

After Mathias was wearing his clothes again, they left the doctor's office, stopping by the pharmacy to pick up his inhaler and medicine. Then Belle said she was hungry and Gold suggested they stop by Granny's to eat.

As they drove to the diner, Mathias wondered what had become of the rest of the Lost Boys.

Page~*~*~*~*~Break

Felix scrubbed dishes in hot soapy water in the industrial sink in the back in the kitchen of Granny's diner. He was unaccustomed to doing this much manual labor, but he soon found that whining and complaining got him nothing but another stack of dirty dishes to wash . . . and in the diner, it seemed like there was always dishes to wash! Or pots to scrub, or trash thrown out in the dumpster out back.

Felix hated it, but had no choice, since the old broad called Granny Lucas had laid down the law quite firmly to him yesterday, when he had been brought to the diner after hours, as she had been one of several families who had volunteered to take in one of the Lost Boys. Others had been Marco, the Darlings, Doc, a few fishermen, and shockingly, Hook, who had taken Rufio, the Lost Boy who was good with a sword and liked ships. There were still a few who remained at the convent until families had chosen them, but Felix had been sent to the Lucas women after a few hours, and at first had thanked the gods, since he couldn't stand the nuns.

"I'm going to live with the old broad and the hot chick? Talk about your mixed blessings," he'd said after getting out of Grumpy's truck and being introduced to the two women. Maybe this wouldn't be too bad after all.

Granny just rolled her eyes. "All right, boy, you may have been used to ruling over little boys, but we don't have time for that kind of nonsense here. You'll pull your weight and show respect."

"Yeah, yeah old broad," Felix snorted, turning away. Like he'd ever take orders from an old fart like her! Maybe the hot chick now . . . that'd be a different story . . . he'd never understood why Peter had never permitted girls on the island, except when he'd kidnapped Wendy. Maybe he'd been too young to appreciate them, Felix thought, smirking as he eyed Ruby.

THWACK! An arrow pierced the seam of his shirt at the top of the shoulder and skewered his shirt to the wall.

"Hey! What the . . .?" Felix gasped, trying to pull free, but he was stuck fast.

Granny loaded her crossbow with another arrow, saying sternly, "R-E-S-P-E-C-T, boy. No more 'old broad.' It's Mrs. Lucas until you've earned the right to call me Granny."

Felix gulped hard. "Yes, ma'am!" Holy shit! The old broad . . . err . . . Mrs. Lucas nearly skewered me!

Then Ruby had added, "That's right, young man. And you can keep your eyes, hands, and comments to yourself, or you'll be getting rabies shots for a year."

Felix flinched, and quickly revised his former thoughts upon receiving a glare from Ruby. "Yes, ma'am!" he said swiftly, thinking woefully, what have I gotten myself into?

That quickly became apparent the next morning, after Ruby had hauled his ass out of bed at the flipping crack of dawn, though he did have a decent breakfast of pancakes, sausage, eggs, and crispy home fries along with coffee before Granny marched him over to the diner (which was just next door) and had him help sweep and mop the floor while Ruby set up the tables and she fired up the grill. At precisely six-thirty, the diner was open for business, and several regulars had already come in, getting their food and coffee fix before going off to work.

Felix, meanwhile, was given an apron and told to start scrubbing the dishes, and that was what he'd been doing non-stop (or at least it felt that way) since seven AM, and it was now 1:30. Well, he had been given a break for lunch at twelve, but then it was back to the dishes, and he was beginning to wish everybody would just go the hell home and cook their own dinner. He grumbled under his breath and longed for the days of lounging about in his treehouse while that little snot Mouse cooked and cleaned.

Page~*~*~*~*~Break

Belle, Rumple, and Mathias met Bae, Henry, and Emma as they entered the diner, and were greeted warmly by the rest of their little family. Mathias proudly told them his new name and showed Henry his inhaler. "So's I don't turn blue and pass out again," he explained.

"That's good. Here, look at this," Henry pulled out the Once Upon a Time book from his backpack. "See? You're in here, on this chapter." He flipped to the chapter entitled The Lost Boys of Neverland, and showed Mathias his picture and the small three paragraphs the book had in it about him. "And look, you're in this part too," and he flipped to another part detailing the rescue mission and showed Mathias the rest of the story.

"What's it say?" he asked the older boy.

"That's right, you can't read yet, can you?" Henry asked.

"No," Mathias said, looking rather upset.

"Don't worry. Belle will teach you," Henry told him confidently. Then he began to read the story to the younger boy.

Meanwhile, Belle showed Emma and Bae her engagement ring, and they both congratulated the new couple. Belle was beaming and happily showed the ring to Ruby when she came by to take their order, and the waitress smiled and hugged her afterwards. "You'd better treat her right, Gold," she mock-growled. "Or else!"

Gold looked amused. "No need to bare your fangs at me, Red. I assure you, Belle will be treated like the queen she is." Then he placed his order for a cheeseburger and onion rings with extra pickles.

"How about you, sweetie?" Ruby called over to Mathias.

Mathias looked up, puzzled. "Uh . . . hi."

"She wants to know what you want to eat," Henry prompted.

"Umm . . ." he looked over at his papa for help.

"Give him what I'm having," Gold told Ruby. "By the way, say hello to my new son, Mathias. Mathias, this is Ruby Lucas, she's Granny's granddaughter."

Ruby beamed at the shy little boy. "Aww, he's adorable, Gold! Looks like you got the pick of the litter, huh? Granny and I have one of the Lost Boys too, only he ain't nearly so cute. Fact is, he's got an attitude bigger than the side of a barn, and that's saying something. Name's Felix."

Mathias shrank back in his chair.

Gold glared at Ruby, then said frostily, "Remind me that I need to have a word with that boy after lunch, Ruby."

Ruby blinked. "Uh . . . why? What's he done?"

Belle beckoned her over and whispered in her ear angrily.

Ruby looked shocked. "Sure thing, Gold. You can go back after you eat. I'll make sure he's available." She smiled over at Mathias. "Hey, sweetie, don't you worry about that old rat. Granny and I'll keep him in line, and if we can't, your papa will, sure enough."

"And so will I," added Bae.

Ruby winked, then said, "Be right back with your drinks."

Henry and Mathias spent half their time before the lunch arrived looking at the Once Upon a Time book, and the other half of the time with Henry explaining things like the lights and the vending machines and cars to Mathias. The little boy, once he got over his initial shyness, was actually very inquisitive and bright, and chattered happily to Henry and anyone else at the table while he nibbled his cheeseburger and fries.

As before, Mathias only ate about a quarter of what he was given, and Belle said they could wrap the rest up to take home and he could eat it a few hours later. Whale had recommended they have her son eat small meals a few times a day, until his stomach adjusted to having regular meals again. He also suggested a brand of protein shake as well, to be drunk as a snack.

Gold signaled Ruby to bring their check, which he put on his tab, then he rose and followed her back into the kitchen. He had some pointed things to say to the former leader of the Lost Boys, he thought, his jaw tightening.

Felix looked up when Ruby appeared at the door. "Hey, when's my next break, Rubes? I been slaving here all day."

"Not yet. First I've got someone here who wants to see you," she said, then stepped aside to let Gold through.

Felix looked hopeful . . . until he saw who was standing there. Then he felt his stomach drop and he muttered. "Aww, shit! Not you again, old man!"

A/N: So what do you think Rumple will say to Felix? Thanks to cynicsquest for suggesting who Felix should live with! And who likes Mouse's new name? My niece thought of it. Also, treat this as if the Lacey part never occurred, though Belle regains her memories by using Blue's potion eventually