A/N: Recently, one of the anonymous reviews I received requested that I write a one-shot based on the moment that Belle gives birth to Rumpel's child. Since I haven't written a one-shot like that before, I decided to go for it. I hope everyone enjoys the result.
Rose
"Can I look now?" It was impossible to see anything past Rumpel's hand. He carefully guided her down a hallway of the Dark Castle, after first insisting that there was something she must see. A surprise, no less.
"You can," he replied hesitantly. Belle immediately tried opening her eyes, only to realize that his hand still covered them. "But since it's still early, you won't be rewarded with your surprise yet." That was him playing the silver-tongued imp again. If she wasn't looking forward to the surprise so much, she might scold him for it.
Their steps slowed. Belle caught the creaking sound of a door opening and she felt a slight draft on her skin. Rumpel's hand pressed against the small of her back as he led her over the threshold and into the room. If memory served, it was one of the empty guest rooms in the West Wing. Why did he wish to bring her there?
He only took his away from her eyes to position her into a particular spot. She dutifully kept her eyes closed until he gave her the signal.
"Okay..." His hands left her shoulders. "Open your eyes."
There was no need for him to repeat it. Her eyelids flew apart. She had a sneaking suspicion about the surprise he had in mind and now she saw that she had been right. What other purpose would he have for steering her toward an otherwise empty guest room? He came up behind her and his arms snaked over her hips. His warm lips placed a small kiss on her cheek.
"I finally got around to fixing up the nursery, without magic," he drawled in her ear. His hand caressed her round belly. Their unborn child kicked away inside. It was due to come any day now and she had been telling him he should prepare a nursery beforehand. He had obviously taken her suggestion to heart.
Belle explored every inch of the nursery, with Rumpel sweeping after her in case she required his protection at a moment's notice. The walls were golden, the windows open to allow the sun to stream in. There was a bookshelf near one of the windows, filled with storybooks and handbooks alike. New white curtains hung from the windows, billowing with the wind. The cradle had been placed in the center of the room.
"You have no idea how complicated it can be to put together a cradle by hand," he told her as she touched it and made it rock. He must have spent hours on it, perhaps during one of the days she had spent reading outside in the garden. Despite the complications, he appared to be proud of himself. Belle was proud of him, too.
There were several stuffed animals in the cradle, noticeably handmade. Belle gently picked up a stuffed rabbit and examined the two different colored patches around its brown button eyes. It even had a little suit and stitched-on pocketwatch. She liked it; it was unique.
"Jefferson made each of those for the baby. He told me to consider it his token of congratulations." Belle made a mental note to visit Jefferson after the baby was born and personally thank him for his gifts. For now, she placed the rabbit back into its corner and turned to give Rumpel a chaste kiss on the lips.
"Thank you," she said enthusiastically. If it wasn't for the enormous bump dominating the space between them, she would have thrown her arms around him and tackled him with one of her inescapable hugs. She made due with just one arm, their hands intertwined over her belly. "I think the baby is excited, too."
She moved Rumpel's hand to a spot on her left side. The baby gave a swift kick and his heart leaped into his eyes. He had been looking forward to the birth of this baby just as much as she was, if not more. It had taken him a little longer than a year to properly mourn for Bae, but with her comfort and support he found the strength to move on and start anew with her. She knew Bae wouldn't want him to be miserable forever or stuck in the past while a brighter future passed him by.
The baby kicked again, harder than ever before. It would certainly be an energetic baby, though she did not doubt they could handle it. It would be a new adventure for them. As Rumpel's fingers splayed over her belly, a spasm of pain shot through her abdomen. The next thing she knew, liquid pooled between her legs and dripped down over the floor. Rumpel heard it and he froze.
"Belle...do we have a leak in the ceiling or...?"
His voice trailed off. It was clear from his puzzled expression that he was trying to process the situation that might very well be taking place. Another spasm hit her hard, enough to make her knees grow weak and a moan to fall from her lips.
This baby wanted out. Now.
"The baby is coming," she gasped. It was fortunate that Rumpel had finished the nursery-it was right on time. Rumpel's eyes had become the size of tea saucers and he seemed to be in shock. She gripped the edge of the cradle and breathed through the contractions. "Rumpel!"
He snapped out of his trance, though he still looked unsure about what he should do. When Bae came into the world, he had been miles away, returning home with a terrible limp after self-injury to get out of fighting in the Ogre War. There had been no other children after Bae and the mothers of the children he collected in his deals did not fancy him standing in the delivery room as they went through labor.
For a minute, he bounced back and forth across the floor with no sense of direction.
"Nothing to worry about. I can do this. I'll just...hmm..." He studied Belle thoughtfully. Then he swooped down and attempted to scoop Belle into his arms.
He hoisted her up and she draped her arm around his neck. Briefly he staggered, but he carried her from the nursery, to their bedchamber where he could lay her comfortably on their bed. It wasn't far from the nursery since the Dark Castle was far too extensive and they wanted their baby close. The effort tired him out, but it was better than letting her give birth on the floor of the nursery. How uncivilized.
"We need the doctor," Belle cried out on the cusp of another violent contraction. Rumpel fluffed the pillows around her in hopes of making her more comfortable. It wasn't that she didn't have faith in Rumpel's ability to help her through this, but she also doubted he knew the first thing about delivering a baby. There wasn't exactly a How to Deliver a Baby for Dummies handbook on any shelf in the nursery.
Since time was of the essence, Rumpel chose to snap his fingers and summon the doctor magically. It had been part of their agreement that the doctor stay within the limits of the Enchanted Forest until the baby was born. Lightning flashed through the room and a figure appeared at the end of the bed, arms raised high above its head.
"It's alive," a deep voice cackled. The man Belle knew as Dr. Whale lowered his head and blinked in confusion when he realized he was no longer standing in his laboratory. "What have you done? I was on the verge of a scientific breakthrough! I was in the middle of cloning myself!"
Belle stared at Rumpel incredulously.
"This is the man you want to deliver our baby?"
Rumpel twitched his fingers, as if debating whether to send him back to his land without color, or at the very least to Jefferson's doorway so the hatter could handle it with his magical hat. He didn't look pleased to have the doctor in his castle, either. Besides, his only qualification as a medical doctor came from a curse.
"Believe me, Belle; I'd rather not have him in my castle or anywhere near you. Unfortunately, he is the only option we have. I may have...frightened the midwives a little too much before the curse. I would elect Snow, but she and Charming are expecting another bundle of joy soon. Or should I say bundles? I even asked Emma, but apparently she isn't complimented by being a midwife. She told me, not for the first time, that she would punch me in the face before that ever happened."
He sighed tiredly. Belle gave him credit for trying so hard to prepare for their baby's arrival. The exhaustion and stress was obvious with every agonized move he made.
She considered Whale skeptically. He certainly dressed like a mad scientist, with a heavy labcoat covering his clothes and long black gloves coated in...she did not wish to know at the moment. Their options were limited, so she nodded agreeably.
She rested her head back on the pillows and let her eyes drift closed. It seemed the pain was increasing with each passing second, the contractions coming harder and faster as the minutes slipped by. True to her nature, she bravely faced the pain without complaint, falling into a pattern of breathing in and out on the wave of each contraction. At the end of it, she knew she would be rewarded with their baby.
Soon she would be able to hold her baby in her arms. Soon she would pass that baby over to Rumpel and he would be given a second chance at being a father. It made her smile, albeit weakly.
"Relax, Belle. This will be over before you know it," Whale advised, snapping on a clean pair of gloves. Easy for you to say. You're not the one with the contractions, she thought inside her head. She became startled when he touched her ankles, directing her into a better position for giving birth, her legs spread apart. "I know it isn't necessarily my place to make demands of the master of the Dark Castle, but it would help if I had warm water and towels."
Over Whale's head, Belle could see Rumpel scrunch his nose, the way he often did when he was disgusted by something. He was a man that was sensitive toward what belonged to him and, even if it was for the purpose of easing Belle's labor, he did not appreciate being given orders. He never did once he became the Dark One and was able to be controlled by the dagger, even more so after Zelena used the dagger to control him ruthlessly.
He glanced over at Belle, whose face contorted with the onslaught of pain and whose brow beaded with sweat already.
"Sweetheart," she pleaded. His resolve weakened, crumbling away like leaves in the wind. As much as he detested taking orders from someone like Whale, he would gladly do it for Belle's sake.
He hastily strode from the room to collect the desired items. It was rare if he depended on his magic nowadays, usually only for the most dire circumstances. When he returned, he handed Whale the items he requested and planted himself on a stool next to the bed. He held Belle's hand while whispering soothing words in her ear. Whenever she moaned too loudly from the intensity of the contractions, he offered to use magic to relieve some of the pain in her abdomen. It worked better than the modern medicine found in Storybrooke.
Tedious hours passed while Belle struggled through labor. Each hour felt like a year, and each minute felt like an hour. Not once did Rumpel let go of her hand or stray from her side. He knew she benefitted from the support.
"You're doing splendid, Belle. You're so brave. Hang on. Just a little longer," he reassured as calmly as he could and occasionally kissed her temple. She squeezed his hand. Another violent contraction hit and she squeezed harder. Harder, harder...He couldn't feel his fingers..."Belle, Belle, Belle! You're...breaking...my...hand!"
The contraction waned and Belle eased up on his hand. His nerves tingled as the circulation returned to his fingers. Just in case, he stealthily healed his hand. It wouldn't do to offend Belle in labor or make her feel guilty to distract her from the birth of their baby.
"Sorry," she murmured sincerely. Her thumb rubbed soft circles into his palm.
"It's...quite...alright," he panted through his own throbbing pain. "I've endured far worse." Belle bit down on her bottom lip, as if worried about hurting him again, but he refused to let her release his hand out of guilt.
Whale had the nerve to chuckle darkly from the end of the bed. Rumpel was hell-bent on ignoring him, especially when he was constantly reminded that the slimy git was getting an unnecessary eyeful of Belle down there. After this, he was contemplating on wiping the doctor's memory of this experience.
"Be grateful she's not the type to curse your name for sticking that thing in her in the first place," he quipped. Being elevated to the position of medical doctor, he probably heard that quite a lot in the delivery room.
Rumpel shifted nervously in his seat. Belle had always been sweet and honest and considerate, never taking any of the moments they shared together for granted. But labor often worked much in the same way as that dreadful monthly gift: it brought out a darker side of women that had been secretly lurking under the surface. He recalled various false memories of movies and television shows in Storybrooke where women in labor slipped into a furious mantra of you suck, you suck, you suck. He couldn't imagine Belle doing that, nor did he want to witness it.
"Don't listen to him," Belle moaned. She squeezed his hand comfortingly, not in the fierce way she did when experiencing the pain of labor. "Nothing could ever make me regret our time together." He smiled gratefully and stole a kiss from her parted lips.
And then came the moment they both had been anticipating anxiously, the moment where Belle needed to start pushing. Whale demanded it of her over and over again, until he resembled a broken record. It wasn't a particularly rough labor and his Belle was brave as always, pushing as hard as she could until Rumpel feared she would pass out from the exhaustion. Clenching his hand tighter than ever before, her nails drawing blood from his skin, she pushed until her face turned the shade of a ripe tomato. A long scream tore from her throat. Rumpel barely breathed throughout the entire process, not until that tiny squirming babe appeared from between Belle's legs, not until his ears were blessed with the sound of its first cry.
They had a baby. He and Belle, together, had a healthy, beautiful baby. His heart swelled in his chest until it nearly burst, long before Whale swaddled it and passed the baby into Belle's eager arms.
"Congratulations. It's a girl," Whale informed them. Tears sprung to Belle's eyes and quickly overflowed. He would have shed a few tears, too, if only Whale weren't watching him so intently. A daughter...He loved her already.
Belle scooted closer to his side of the bed so that he could equally admire their baby.
"Hello, little one. Your Papa's here," he softly cooed to their daughter. The little jewels that served as her eyes looked up at him curiously. A pair of beautiful, bright blue eyes like her mother's. He bent forward to kiss his daughter's head. Then he shared a happy kiss with Belle. "What shall we name her?"
"How about...Rose?" She suggested readily and he suddenly knew that she had the name picked out for a long time. They never really discussed names for either boys or girls. The whole ordeal was one ongoing surprise and he counted himself lucky to even be given a second chance as a father. He looked down at his newborn child and tested the name on his lips. Rose. It was a lovely name. "For the flower you gave me, back when we were falling in love. A symbol of hope and of the love we share. The love that ultimately rewarded us with our baby."
If it had been a boy, they might have named him Chip.
"Rose it is," he agreed. There was a small murmur of aww from the end of the bed. Rumpel glanced up to see Whale dabbing his eyes with a handkerchief. "You're free to go now. Return to your clones."
Rumpel waved his hand in dismissal and the doctor vanished in a puff of violet smoke. It was much more preferable to cherish this moment of happiness with Belle and his daughter than to have the doctor watching.
Getting up from his stool, Rumpel crawled atop the bed with Belle so that they may hold their daughter between them. They both took turns kissing Rose's head and whispering vows of eternal love, happiness, and protection.
Their past was filled with such heartache and darkness. Rumpel liked to think that this was the start of a bright future.
...
Also, I don't think I've mentioned it yet, but I have a new Rumbelle story in the works. It's called "Feeding on Madness" and it's something of an AU set during the second half of season 3. Specifically, it features Rumpel's struggle to fight through his predicament of being locked up by Zelena so that he can return to Belle as well as Belle's quest to find Rumpel again. It's not meant to follow closely with the events with the show other than Rumpel being locked up by Zelena. I figured I should mention it in case anyone here is interested in checking it out.
I want to thank those that reviewed recently, especially since this collection of one-shots is nearly up to 175 reviews. So thank you: Grace5231973, Prisoner of Azkaban711, crazykat77, NinaGold, and the anonymous reviewer that requested this prompt in the first place.