When All Else Fails
Epilogue Part 2
A/N Thanks everyone! Y'all are just amazing. I hope you enjoy this last installment. However long it turns out ...it'll still be the last one. :) You have made this journey a fantastic one.
According to Adora Gold it is EXACTLY 15 Years, 17 Weeks, 12 Days, 2 Hours and 47 Minutes since this story began.
Belle watched with somewhat hidden mirth as her daughter paced. Adora looked so much like her father in that moment that it was everything Belle could do not to laugh. True to his word, Rumple had agreed to allow his daughter out of his sight ...with a boy ...under the strict understanding that this boy was to come inside the house and say hello (and beg for his life) before they left. Adora had been horrified at the prospect. She had argued with her father; had begged her mother to argue with her father; had begged her 12 year-old sister Aimee to argue with her father and had even gone as low as to ask Sebastian who was arguably her father's favorite child to argue with his father. All had been greeted with a solid, and uncompromising 'Oh, Hell no!" although her mother had been slightly more polite.
As such, she had been pacing from the door, to the kitchen counter, to the door and back again since 6:30. Lucas was not supposed to be here until 7:00, but she was afraid he would arrive early and she did not want her father to get to the door before she did. It had been bad enough when she'd told Lucas he had to come inside but to have him come face to face with Rumplestiltskin without her there would be a disaster.
It wasn't that she didn't love her dad. She did. It certainly wasn't that her dad didn't love her, because she knew that he did. She sighed heavily. It was just that her father was 'The Dark One' to everyone in town. It didn't matter that he'd willingly given up that life a long time ago; to the town's people, he was still Rumplestiltskin, The Dark One. That reputation caused anyone who didn't really know him, or like Lucas, someone who had to deal with him by proxy, a great deal of discomfort if not outright fear.
He had, over the course of many years, gained a quiet respect from almost everyone, including Lucas' parents, but there were some who still considered him dangerous. She found it annoying. He had a wife and eight children he loved to such a degree it was probably not entirely healthy, and although he did, in fact, still practice magic to a degree, Adora knew he meant no harm to anyone. Hell, if they were frightened of anyone, it should be Sebastian who had apparently inherited Rumplestiltskin's magical ability and tended to wallow in that knowledge while trying out new potions and spells on his siblings. At just barely 7 years-old, Sebastian Gold was not someone to be trifled with, and he got stronger every day. She, to her knowledge, did not have an innate ability with magic. Her sisters, Aimee and Mirabella were both capable, but had no interest and it was far too early to tell with either the twins or Zaz who was not due for a couple of months.
Adora, Aimee and Mira had laughed themselves sick when their father had announced that their new brother's name was to be Zaz, a word in Basque that meant seventh. Their mother had been unamused by this proclamation, but as everyone in the family had taken to calling the baby Zaz, it looked like it was probably going to stick. Adora tended to think her father had simply typed 'Seven' into the Google translator and clicked on different languages until he found one that could be used as a name. In fact, that was probably exactly what had happened.
She turned once again and walked back in to the kitchen where her father was sitting with Sebastian. Their heads were down and they were concentrating on something intently. Perhaps her father was having Baz teach him to read minds so he could finally beat Mira at chess. She marveled at how much her brother looked like her father. Both had shoulder length brown hair, soft brown eyes and slight builds. Rumple had, briefly, taken to calling Baz 'Mini Me' but when he had woken up one morning to find himself literally glued to his bed, he'd taken the hint and stopped.
A knock at the door broke in to her thoughts and her stomach dropped. There was nothing about this situation that didn't scream disaster, especially when her father looked up and grinned mischievously. On the bright side, at least her father couldn't bitch about cars or driving or anything like that. Lucas lived nearby, and they were going to walk to his house where his father had promised to take them to the movies.
Rumple got up and started walking to the door when Adora scampered past him to open it herself. Sebastian had abandoned their project, and glanced at the door with his eyes sparkling. Just before the door opened, Aimee and Mira joined their brother at the table. Belle, Adrian and Acacius watched with curiosity from the living room. He shook his head. Was he really that bad? Oh, right ...dumb question. He leaned against the counter and watched as his eldest daughter let in a tall boy with golden blonde hair and eyes that were almost as blue as hers. Rumplestiltskin tried not to stare ...really, but he couldn't help it. He had failed to ask Adora who Lucas' parents were and now he was regretting his forgetfulness. Naturally, he wasn't at all surprised that the Mayor's son would fall for his daughter. She was, after all, the spitting image of her mother, but he was amazed that Lucas had been allowed to come here alone. In fact, he was shocked that Lucas wasn't accompanied by a pack of wolves.
Lucas squared his shoulders and walked toward Rumple. He was a brave lad if nothing else. "Hello, sir. I'm Lucas Nolan."
Rumple nodded. "I assumed. You look very much like your father."
"So I'm told," Lucas responded with a smile. "If it is okay with you, Adora and I will be going to my house. My father is going to drive us to the movies."
The elder man looked at the boy with curiosity. "Charming can drive? Huh. Well, learn something new every day. Come in and meet the rest of the family, Lucas." Rumple turned to lead him into the living area and stopped, unable to prevent himself from laughing. "Really? What is it that you think I'm going to do to this remarkably polite young man?" His entire family, Sebastian, Aimee, Mira, Acacius, Adrian and Belle were standing at the base of the stairs as if preparing for a family picture ...or to render first aid, whichever they felt appropriate.
Sebastian was the only one who said anything. "Mom said you might turn him into a ..." he paused, struggling for the word. "...a ble ..blenda? No. Bl .."
"Blender?" Rumple asked, shooting a look at Belle who simply smiled innocently.
"Yes ...that," Sebastian said, nodding.
Rumplestiltskin turned back around to look at the boy standing next to his daughter. "Well, that would be inappropriate, wouldn't it?"
Lucas seemed to relax for a moment before Rumple added, "We don't blend much. Maybe a flat screen television or a cabinet or something."
"Papa!"Adora was appalled. She wiggled her fingers at the rest of her family. "Everyone go away. We're leaving and all of you are impossible!"
Belle finally took pity on her daughter and pushed her way through the group, which wasn't hard given how wide she was at the moment. She grasped her husbands hand and he looked down at her with a smile. "Oh very well, off you go."
Both kids sighed and headed, slightly too quickly, for the door.
"Oh, and Lucas?" Rumple's voice stopped them cold.
Lucas turned around trying not to tremble. He met the eldest Gold's eyes. "Yes, sir?"
"Have my daughter back, standing in this house by 11:00 or I assure you, I will make good on the suggestion of my son. Are we absolutely clear? She is my eldest daughter and should any harm come to her, I will find you." Rumple's voice had dropped to a deep whisper. He was not joking any more.
Lucas swallowed and nodded. "I understand, sir."
As much as she would have liked to be angry as she pulled her boyfriend out the door, Adora simply couldn't find it in her. Her heart swelled with the love that poured out from those words. Her mother had once told her that she had fallen in love with Rumplestiltskin, The Dark One, because she had seen in him a soul that was so stunning in it's beauty, she'd simply had no other choice. She had said his love was absolute, fierce, unconditional and that it gave her strength to know he would always be there to take care of her, no matter the cost. Adora hadn't really understood at the time, but she did now, and her mother had been right. It was comforting to know she was shrouded in a veil of protection no matter where she went or what she did.
When the teenagers were gone the rest of the family dispersed. Belle put the twins to bed and joined her husband in the living room where he was waiting for her. She walked over to him, and he helped her sit down next to him. When he looked at her, his eyes were serious. "What is it?"
"Are you happy, Belle?"
She had no idea what made him ask, but she answered with complete honesty. "When Adora was born, I was so very happy." She reached out at stroked his soft cheek gently. "And then Aimee and Mira came along and I was joyous. When Baelfire finally came to his senses and became a part of our family, I thought my heart would burst, but then Sebastian, Adrian and Acacius came along and I was happier still ...I didn't think it possible to find yet more happiness but I now have poor little Zaz."
He cocked his head to one side. "Why poor, little Zaz?"
Belle laughed. "Because I fear that no matter what I do, he has already been christened Zaz." Rumple grinned and Belle continued. "But, you know what?"
Rumple leaned forward, nuzzling her hair. "Hmmm?"
"Nothing will ever compare to the day I fell in love with you."
He pulled back and looked at her. "You gave me back my soul. You reminded me that I had a heart. I loved you then, and I love you now."
She trailed her fingers down the side of his face. "And you gave me a life of love and joy that I could never have imagined possible."
Rumplestiltskin smiled, leaning forward to kiss his wife. They remained like that for some time; simply holding on to one another, as they had for the last 15 years ...as they had since she had promised him forever.
Really, Truly and Honestly ...The End
