Warning: if you feel sensible over child's death and are not willing to read anything related to it, please, do not follow with this chapter.

Rumplestiltskin had been facing fear a lot lately, just like he was dealing constantly with remorse, buy nothing had felt so wrecking as it was feeling now. He had wiped Mrs. Potts memories and sent her away, but he couldn't find the courage he needed to enter Belle's tower. His heart was pieces inside his chest and he blamed himself for what happened.

The Dark One knew that he couldn't take Belle's reaction when he told her that the child was dead. If it was hurting him so much, then it was going to destroy her and if it was really true, Rumple needed to prepare some potions for her, to induze her to labour and take off the child from inside her, otherwise it would cause her an infection and he would lose her too. Later thinking, while he was mixing ingredients inside his cauldron, the imp concluded that maybe it wasn't a wise idea to send Mrs. Potts away, but he had magic and he could assist Belle with everything she needed to make sure she would be fine.

After the potions where finished, he took some long breaths, knowing that the quicker he did it, the faster it all would be over. Rumple would have to approach his wife just enough to touch her belly and confirm there was no life inside her anymore, then he would prepare her bed, put her on a nightgown, give her the right tea and hold her hand the whole time. He never that something could make him feel so nauseous, but the truth was that he was as sick as he never had been ever since he became the Dark One.

When things were over, he needed to remember to pick a strand of Belle's hair so he could check one last thing. He would mix their essences and if it showed that they weren't True Love, then he would keep her around and help her to heal, but if they were, he would send her away, back to her father's home, so they would never have the chance of concieving another child again and the prophecy would never complete itself.

He walked towards her door, too broken to even attempt to use his magic. Rumplestiltskin grabbed the door's knob, taking off the spell that kept it locked and slid the door open, finding Belle sat by the desk, writing something in a little journal. His breath got caught on his throat when she turned around, a tiny smile appearing in her beautiful pinkish lips and seeing her in profile made his heart race, because it accentuated the curve of her belly, where one of her hands were tenderly pressed at.

She looked beautiful, more stunning than ever, the long cerulean gown matching her gorgeous eyes. Belle stood up, stunned and he tried to memorize every line of her sweet features. He understood that he was never going to be able to forgive himself for locking her in that tower for so long, the duration of a pregnancy in which he hadn't been involved.

"Hey," he finally muttered.

"Rumple..." Belle savoured the syllables of his name, feeling tears plucking at her eyes. "Hey."

Wanting nothing more than to reach for her and pull Belle into his embrace, Rumplestiltskin had to control himself to not step closer. She seemed so healthy and gloriously shiny he could barely believe that something was wrong. Her stomach was full and round, like a strong babe rested in there, but according to the midwife, it was only appearances.

Swallowing hard, he asked: "Are you alright?"

"I am," she smiled, softly. "You?"

The imp nodded, wordlessly, wondering how she could be so kind with him after everything he did and said to her. He watched as Belle slipped to the bed, leaning against the pillows with a sigh of contentment, petting her belly very gently. She loved that baby and anticipating her heartbreak most nearly killed him.

"Can we talk?"

"Of course," she agreed, tapping the place right beside her, "come here."

"No," he said, shaking his head, not wanting to give them the chance of getting any closer for now. "I think it is better if we keep the distance."

Belle waved her head understandably. Her eyes dropped to her stomach and she started to trace circles on it through the fabric of her gown.

"Alright," the girl said, slightly distracted, not allowing her eyes to meet his, this time. "What do you want to talk about?"

Rumple needed to confess so many things for her and the potions seemed to be burning him through the leather of his waistcoat. He didn't know how he could even start to tell her that when she give birth, she would never see their baby's eyes flowing open, hear it crying or have the chance of raising it. The imp couldn't do it, at least, not yet, so he pulled up a chair and took a seat, starting with sometimes that would hurt less.

"I believe we haven't been honest with each other and I need you to understand it all."

"You're talking about the prophecy?"

"Aye," Rumplestiltskin's confirmed, rubbing his fists against his weary eyes. "The prophecy, of course, and I."

Sleep hadn't come for him in the previous night, and he had barely closed his eyes in much of the others, during the last few months. He was tired, sad and concerned, but when Belle lifted her glance to him with a grin curving her lips, he felt himself get his strength back, because he was there for her and only her mattered.

"Well," she started, "I would like very much to hear it all."

The truth was that he didn't know where to start or what to tell her, so he thought it was a good idea to start with a story, after all, she always cherished them. He tried to get comfortable in the chair, joined hands and let his gaze fix on his beautiful wife as he started.

"A long time ago, a fairy fell in love with a man. He was a poor unfortunate soul that had nothing in life, but this forbidden relationship, that should have never happened, because the fairies should be pure beings and never be love anyone."

"This sounds unfair," she interrupted, biting down her lip.

The girl seemed so concerned with a random story that it was quite amusing for him to watch her expressions changing and almost made him forget about what he has come there for in first place.

"Life is unfair with everyone, Belle."

"Yeah," she nodded, "I guess it is."

"Well, anyway," he continued, "after some time, the fairy found herself with child and she knew that she would be expelled and destitute from her powers, so she planned to run away with her love and child, but it never happened. The Blue Fairy, the one that commands all of the others discovered her plans and cursed the man making him look very young again and sending him to an island that he wouldn't be able to leave until the fairy he loved redeemed herself."

A whole new concept about fairies formed in her mind. For that book she had read, Belle already knew that they weren't exactly the best creatures in the realm, like most people believed, but hearing this new story from Rumple, made her decide that they were definitely no good. Now she never wanted her child to have a fairy godmother, because she thought it to be a dangerous thing.

Caressing the sides of her belly, Belle asked: "And what about her and the baby?"

"Blue took the child away, leaving him on the doorstep of three lonely sisters that raised him, and was sent to a horrible placed called the Dark Realm, she got her wings cut out and wasn't able to break free from there for years."

"This is terrible," she muttered, almost in tears.

Her compassion was inspiring and he wanted to pull her closer, hide his face on the curve of her neck and lose himself in her arms. He wanted to cry, tell her how much he was sorry and how much he felt like he could do anything to make her happy. If he could, he would exchange his own life, to safe their child.

But instead he kept in place, breathing hard and fighting against the tears as he confessed: "The babe, it was me."

Immediately she tried to reach for him, leaning forward in an attempt to bring herself up, but falling to the pillows again, moved by the weight of her belly. He lifted a hand, gesturing for her to stop and saw Belle taking a sharp breath of discomfort.

"Oh, Rumple - "

"I had a miserable life of cowardice, Belle and I was led to take the power of the Dark One by the same woman that separated my parents."

"The Blue Fairy," she bounced. "So, your mother is the Yellow one, right? I've read about this a while ago."

The imp had no idea where she could have found a book with that kind of information, but he hadn't checked every title his magic brought to her library and his wife was always thirsty for acknowledgement, so he was sure that she wouldn't always be reading light romances and childish adventures. Belle gathered wisdom and someday, he knew that she was meant to be one of the most intelligent women in that realm.

"Yeah," he continued, a shy smile of proud lifting one corner of his lips, "but now she is known as the Black Fairy."

"I'm so sorry this happened to you," Belle said. "You didn't deserve any of this."

"I was a poor commoner for a great part of my life, a spinner. I kept a simple, quiet life, until the Ogres' War came and I was forced to go to the front lines," Rumplestiltskin told her, stopping for a moment as the memories filled his mind, bringing him back to those horrible days. "I was so scared that I injured myself to be send home. People called me terrible things, but I didn't care for it, what I cared for was seeing as they took children to fight and die in a lost cause."

Belle wasn't sure why he decided to share that story with her, but she knew that it cleared a lot about him. Rumple had a bad past, a terrible one and she only wanted him to understand they could have a good future. But now she was aware of how much his fear dominated him.

"This only gets worse," she murmured.

"Much worse," the imp agreed. "One day a woman knocked on my door, asking for shelter. I took her in, let her become my friend and then, I got out one night to get water for her and met this man that offered me the powerful to save the whole village and become a hero. As foolish as I was, I took it, linking my life to this dagger and the fate written in the prophecy."

With a sigh of despair, Belle finally slip off the bed, walking towards him and seeing how anxious he appeared to be, when he realised that she was coming closer.

"Oh, my dear husband..."

"Blue sent him there, because she found out that the woman I had taken under my wing was my own mother," he kept saying, almost involuntarily. "To punish her, she ruined me."

His eyes got wide when she kneeled in front of him. The imp wanted to tell her to stand, because she should never seem smaller than him and she shouldn't be doing such a thing when she was in such a delicate condition, but he realised that it would be pointless, both because he knew that she wouldn't hear and because that pregnancy was already over, even if she didn't know it yet.

"Rumplestiltskin, look at me," she commanded and her warm palms came to rest on his face. "Whatever the future brings, I want to be with you. Please, let me be with you."

Rumple knew what was coming next, but he was weak enough to let her approach anyway, holding his face in hands and pulling him into a kiss. He couldn't help himself when his hands moved to splay on her back and his body bent to help her up, and he slid Belle easily to his lap, lips dancing against hers as her body pressed to his. The imp felt the curve of her belly against his own and it was like a shock of reality for him.

Dropping a hand, her let it stroke at her tummy, the magic working in his fingers in a desperate attempt to find life, but there was any. The only bursting heat he could feel was Belle's, which meant that their baby was long gone. A sob attention to escape his mouth at the realisation and he departed from his wife's mouth, petting her hair as she looked at him so full of a hope that was soon to be destroyed.

"Belle, sweetheart, I need to tell you something," he said, slightly breathless. "It's about the child."

"The child?" She questioned, looking down at the hand he still kept on her belly.

Joining hers right above him, she smiled, but he caught her chin between two fingers, making her look back at him and the serious expression in Rumple's face caused it to disappear.

"My love," he murmured as gently as she could, "the babe doesn't move and it should be moving."

"It will. Soon we will be able to feel it kicking strongly."

Her faith was beautiful and he felt a bastard for being the one to wreck it, but there was no one else to tell her this and if he didn't do it quickly she might get ill.

"No, sweetheart, we won't," Rumple said in a shaken voice, his nervous hands stroking her skin. "Belle, my darling, the child is dead."

She blinked. Once. Twice. Then the tears came, falling down her cheeks as he watched her chest raise and fall very fast, just like if she was having a lack of air to breath. Belle shooked her head repeatedly, refusing herself to accept what he just said, assuring herself that it must be a cruel joke, or a dark desire of his heart, anything, but not the truth.

"No," she yelled at him, standing up on her feet. "It's growing and it's getting bigger."

"Belle - " the Dark One tried to start.

"It can't be."

Her cheeks were getting red, just like her neck, her hands shielding her belly. Rumple rose on his feet, walking towards her with the pain marked in each line of his face, cupping her shoulders and looking at her watery eyes.

"My magic confirmed it," he bounced.

Shaking her head repeatedly, Belle errupted in a mess of sobs, finally giving up and drowing into his embrace, pressing her face against his shoulder.

"Please, please, no..."

"Oh, my love," Rumple murmured, "I'm so sorry."

This time, however his words didn't seem to help in anything and just angered her who suddenly pulled away. The grief was too strong, overwhelming her, but the hate she felt for her husband had a great impact too. She could barely believe that he was pretending to be moved by the death of that baby when he never showed any interest in it.

"You're not sorry. That's what you wanted."

"I - " Rumplestiltskin swallowed. "I never wanted this to happen!"

"You did. You said you never wanted a child, then you locked me here," Belle screamed, trembling and felling like her legs could betray her at any time and make her fall to the floor, but still gathering strength to keep shouting out at Rumple, because her pain was too big and she needed someone to be guilty. "This is your fault."

"It's not," he murmured, never before sounding so weak.

The truth was that he actually agreed with her. Rumplestiltskin was blaming himself for this, blaming himself for having lost the whole pregnancy, when his child was still alive and growing inside his love's womb. He didn't watch her body change as his seed transformed into a pretty wee babe, he didn't take care of her when she felt sick. He wasn't the father he was meant to be, just a coward fearing a fate that eventually would happen anyway.

"My baby..." Belle sobbed. "My beautiful innocent child."

"Oh, darling," Rumple mumbled, trying to reach for her again, but his wife stepped back.

"Please, don't touch me."

He nodded, not daring to do anything that would make her feel worst right now, because that was the last thing he wanted. His beautiful Belle was already suffering enough.

"We need - " he started and had to take a deeper breath to continue. "We need to take it off."

"What?"

"I've made you a potion," Rumple explained. "Drink everything, then lay down and wait until it makes its work. Then I'll give you something for the pain and you shall feel nothing until you're empty again."

Sniffling Belle finally understood what he was trying to say. He wanted to free her from the child, but she had no strength to do it now, she hadn't even accepted the fact that she wasn't going to have a baby to take care of anymore.

"I don't want it."

"You need to take it, Belle, otherwise you will get an infection and die."

"Let me die, then," she sighed. "Which reasons do I have to live? You don't like me and you will keep me a prisoner for the rest of my days and now, my sweet baby is gone."

If he had been stabbed with the dagger right in his heart, the Dark One was pretty sure that it would hurt way less than her words. Rumple felt the tears plucking in his eyes, making his vision blurry and he felt when one of them slid down his green-gold cheek. He couldn't take it; he simply just couldn't let her go, not this way, not when he knew that he life was going to end forever and he would never hear her laugh again or be graced with her kindness. No, he couldn't live in a world where Belle didn't exist. Knowing that they had lost a child was killing him and he couldn't bear any more suffering.

"Take it," Rumplestiltskin begged, approaching her just enough so he could close her fingers around the tiny bottle he had taken from his coat's pocket. "Please, don't force me to watch the only person I've ever loved die. It is already hurting enough."

Belle's lip trembled, she seemed to want to say something, but then, she changed her mind. The girl felt like she could very well just wait for the time to take her to the endless night, then maybe she could see her mother again and maybe she could be with her child, but it was the look in Rumple's eyes that finished shattering her heart in the tiniest pieces ever. She didn't understand any of his twisted feelings and thoughts, but she could see that he was sad too, so she did the brave thing, opened the lid of the bottle and drank it all, swallowing a sob next as she climbed up the bed and laid on her left side, caressing her stomach in an infinity rhythm.

He approached her, brushing his lips on her temple and letting another tear fall on her face.

"Leave me alone," Belle asked weakly.

"But - "

"You weren't here when this child was alive," she said harshly. "You don't deserve to see its face."

His eyes closed for a brief white and he nodded, even though she wasn't seeing the movement, them, he ran a hand through her hair in what seemed to be a last gest of care, but was actually a way of getting a strand, before he disappeared in a purple cloud of smoke, leaving Belle alone to the pains of her body and her soul.