A/N: I forgot to mention that another aspect that will be AU is the portrayal of Maurice. In "Skin Deep" he seemed like a descent and loving father trying to protect his kingdom, so I'm going more in that direction, and that he was trying to form an alliance with Gaston and his family.
Chapter III: Back to the Real World
Belle stretched and yawned as she opened her sapphire eyes to bright yellow of the sun as it streamed through the window. Never before had she felt more relaxed than she had these past two weeks being alone with her new husband. No one woman could ever know how wonderful of a lover Rumple was than she did. She felt like the luckiest woman in the world. When Rumple had told her Milah claimed he was awkward and boring when they made love. She was quite shocked to hear that Milah and told she Rumple it had to be Milah who had been the horrible one, because he made love to her it was the most pleasurable experience of her life.
Rumple of course, recalled that Cora had given him more experience, making him better in bed, but he chose not to remind Belle of that little memory. After her encounter with Cora last year Rumple had premised her she would never have to think about that wretched woman ever again. The only reminder was her daughter Regina, who was still doing penance for her crimes against the Storybrooke residents. She had lost her job as mayor and Emma got full custody of Henry, but that had only been a small portion of Regina's punishment. Belle was still terrified of her and didn't even want to invite her to the wedding, but Regina was easier to tolerate than Cora. Cora had been Rumple's Ex lover and she had enjoyed reminding Belle of that when she tried take over Storybrooke.
Belle had been so afraid she would lose Rumple, even after they had defeated Cora with the help of Baelfire, Emma, and the Nolan's, that she still would have nightmares of Cora returning, but it was a few weeks later that Rumple proposed to her lessening some of the nightmares. Now, Rumple was her husband and her insecurities hadn't faded, but being his wife after all this made everything worth it.
She had reached her hand over to the other side to find only the imprint of Rumple's body, but she did find a note on the pillow in Rumple's fine script. She opened it and read "I'm downstairs making breakfast and will be upstairs in a little bit to bring it up to you."
Deciding that she would like to leave the room at least for a day, despite still being tempted to stay in bed with Rumple forever, she got out of bed and pulled a robe out of Rumple's closet. Her closest now too. She slipped it on snuggling into the warm fabric and closing her eyes as she sighed contentedly. She visited the bathroom for a quick minute to fix herself up and headed downstairs.
As she came into the kitchen she found Rumple singing softly a song from his village that he told her he would sing to Baelfire. It was a song his foster aunts would sing to him if he was ever sad or scared. She lingered for a moment in the entry way just listening to his soothing voice as he sang.
"Oh hello darling, I was going to bring breakfast to you," Rumple said as he turned to find her standing there.
Belle said, "I'm sorry. I was just little restless and wanted to get out bed, but I appreciate the thought. I can go back to bed if you like."
"No, you don't have to," he said. "It's almost ready anyway."
"Can I help in any way?" Belle asked coming into the kitchen.
"Nope, your only job is to sit down and wait for me to serve you," he said, and pulled out her chair for her.
"I feel like I should make something like tea or coffee," Belle said not taking the offered seat just yet.
"Oh I already have that prepared as well," he said.
He pressed the button to turn on the Keurig that Bae bought him. He told Rumple it was easier to make coffee this way and quicker. Belle was also starting to like the taste of coffee as long as it had plenty of creamer and sugar.
After realizing he wasn't going to let her help Belle took the seat he offered. The smell of eggs, veggies, and coffee brewing made her mouth water. To distract herself Belle watched Rumple as he went about his task and couldn't help but enjoy the view of his backside to her.
"What are you smiling at?" Rumple asked as he placed small cups of juice on the table. He poured orange juice into her cup and then his.
She blushed as she tried to dismiss the naughty thoughts that were roaming her mind. "Oh, nothing, I'm just enjoying the fact we get to do this every morning, together."
He gave her a mug with a-lop eared rabbit on it that she had picked out herself during one of their trips into town. She added creamer and one spoonful of sugar to sweeten her coffee. The scent of fresh veggies got stronger as Rumple placed the veggies on a sheet of yellow egg that he proceeded to cover with the other half of the egg sheet. He flipped it twice, after letting it cook on each side, with a spatula, and he slid the two he made on to plates. Rumple presented her what he deemed an omelet something she was surprised he hadn't made for her yet. Before he finally sat down he put bowls of fresh cut fruit on the table for each of them.
"Bon Appetite," Rumple said and waited for Belle to take her first bite of an omelet.
"It's really good," she said, her voice muffled due to the food still in her mouth. Once she swallowed she asked, "Why haven't you made one of these for me before?"
"I don't know I just never got around to it, and I wasn't sure if you'd like it," he answered.
"I love the food here and some taste so different from the other world, but in a good way. Then again, I'm a little biased to the chef," Belle said, smiling conspiratorially.
"We should probably let everyone know that you're still alive and that I didn't lock you away," Rumple said, picking up Belle's plate once she had finished her
omelet and started on her fruit bowl.
Once they finished breakfast, Belle picked up the empty glasses of juice and bowls, placed them in the sink, and soaping up a wash cloth started to wash them. She sighed, "I know, I'm just enjoy our alone tim, especially now that I'm Mrs. Gold."
There was a mischievous grin on her lips as she washed the dishes and Rumple dried them. He had a dish washer, but hand washing the dishes was a force of habit for him. He always insisted to Bae that even though they were living in a world where things were made easier by electronics and other machines, doing your own work by hand gives you a sense of pride and understanding. It even took Bae a while to convince his father to use a Keurig, but he pointed out that if he was in rush to get to the shop using a Keurig, instead of waiting on your coffee to brew, would be easier.
"Unfortunately my darling, the world does move on and I have to make sure Bae hasn't destroyed the shop," he said. "Look at it this way it's our chance to show the world we made it this far."
"Snow says that the real test is after the honeymoon," Belle said.
"I think that being with someone like me and staying with me is a test in itself," Rumple said.
"I would say it was more like an adventure, but yes, you were a handful," Belle said teasingly, "Well worth it, and I look forward to whatever comes next, even if it weighs on us."
"I will never give up on us, and don't start thinking about giving up either, because I'll smack you upside the head if you do," she said as she leaned against the counter having finished washing the last dish.
Rumple chuckled. "Yes, my queen." He stood behind her nibbling on her ear and ran his fingers through her curls.
Belle shivered, despite the fact it was quite warm, and smiled. "You better stop teasing me or I won't be able to leave." She leaned against him and sighed deeply, closing her eyes.
He growled in his seductive brogue. "That's the idea."
"What about Baelfire. You said so yourself you didn't want to leave him alone in shop for more than a week," Belle reminded him as she became aroused.
"True, but we will continue this tonight," he said with a sly grin.
"I cannot wait," Belle said.
Rumple watched as his beautiful wife deliberately walked slowly out of kitchen and after a few more seconds he followed her upstairs pretending to chase her. The newly married couple was behaving like teenagers, and even though they had been dating for quite awhile before they were married they were still undeniably in love.
~Page Break~
Rumplestiltskin had given his son a call and they agreed to meet at the diner, so Neal could tell him how things were going since the couple had gone into seclusion. Today, Belle wore a navy blue sun dress with dark brown strappy sandals and Rumple wore a casual button down beige colored shirt with jeans. He wore those a lot more, and found them to be much more comfortable than his suits and leather pants, though on occasion Belle would make a special request for him to wear the leather pants.
They arrived at Granny's around 1 o'clock just in time for the lunch rush and almost everybody was there.
"Good afternoon Mr. and Mrs. Gold," Ella greeted smiling. She was still shy around Rumple, but these past couple years, and Belle being around, made her a little less wary. "Table for two?"
"Actually dearie, we're meeting my son here," Rumple said.
"Alright, I think we can do that," Ella said, and led the couple to a table for three.
Not being able to resist, Belle ordered her usual ice tea and Rumple ordered a coke.
She asked Ella when she came back with their drinks, "How are you, Ashley? Has your cleaning business taken off?"
"It's slow, but I have hope that it will be successful," she said giving them menus.
"That's great," Belle said.
"Well it's the one thing I'm good at," Ashley admitted shrugging.
"I'm sure there are a lot of things you're good at," Belle said. "How's the baby?"
"She's doing great too and Thomas is such a wonderful dad. We've also had help from Thomas' dad," Ashley answered.
"It's the newlyweds!" Ruby approached the table, grinning, just as Ella left to get back to work. "We didn't know if you'd ever come out."
Belle blushed as she cast her eyes downward pretending to look at the menu. "We had to leave the house at some point," Rumple answered seeing that Belle was embarrassed by the teasing.
"Well, I'm glad you guys have graced us with your presence," Ruby said jokingly. "Belle, you'll have to tell me all about how your week went. I want details."
It was now Rumple's turn to blush as Ruby winked at them.
"Ruby," Belle hissed, but she smiled at her friend. "I will talk to you later once we're alone."
The she wolf couldn't help but smirk as she loved seeing Gold embarrassed. A couple of years ago she wouldn't have felt at ease with embarrassing the man, but ever since Rumplestiltskin had trapped Peter Pan, almost sacrificing himself in the process and had been a good man to her friend, Ruby no longer hated the man, though, she now pitied him bit knowing a little about what he went through and lost.
Five minutes later, Neal arrived and Rumple got up embracing his son with enthusiasm. "How was your honeymoon, papa?" Neal asked as he sat down across from his father.
"Good. Rather pleasant with just the two of us," Rumple replied.
"What, you don't get enough time normally," Neal asked humorously .
Rumple rolled his eyes at his son's inappropriate humor. Neal had been shocked at first and then found it amusing that his father and stepmom were so affectionate. He had never seen Rumple and Milah act that way towards each other. In fact, Milah had been annoyed just by his father's presence alone, so Neal was pleasantly surprised to see another showing affectionate to his father.
Belle herself had been embarrassed at first, but soon enough she had grown used to her stepson's need to give them a hard about their behavior.
"Hopefully, one day the two of you will be able to leave to go on a real honeymoon," he added.
"As nice as it would be to go to those places in my books, all that matters to me is being with your father," Belle said, though secretly she hoped they would be able to leave.
She always wanted to travel to France and Italy, but Rumple wanted to improve the spell they used to leave Storybrooke, plus he didn't seem ready for them to travel as far as another country.
"I do appreciate that Belle, but I do intend to take you somewhere besides New York City," Rumple promised.
"I'll patiently wait until we do," Belle said. "How are things with you and Emma?" She next asked.
"We're still dating and Emma is letting me move in with her and Henry," Neal answered.
"That's great son I'm glad things are working out with you two," Rumple said.
"But be patient with her. You still need to take it slow with her, because she's been through a lot," Belle said.
"Don't worry, I am mama. I've been taking Henry to school and picking him up. We usually go by the station to bring Emma some food in case she hasn't had any," Neal explained.
A buzz came from his pocket and Neal reached in to grab his cell. After putting in the password he looked at the screen and apologizing to his parents went outside to take the call.
"What's up?" Neal said.
The voice on the other line said, "Greetings Agent Baelfire, we have sensed a great shift in the atmosphere. We need you to investigate."
"Magical activity? Where?" He asked.
"It's actually where you are now," the other agent said.
"Do you know anything about it? Is it dangerous?" Neal asked his tone sound anxious.
"No, agent, but you have our protection wards surrounding the area and we'll be sending a spy to help you out," the disembodied voice assured him.
"I'll keep an eye out, and just keep me updated on what you find out," he said.
"We will agent Baelfire and you keep us updated on any magical activity that goes beyond what you normally encounter from your friends and family, like if you suspect a threat," the agent said.
"I will," he assured him and the agent hung up on Neal.
Rumple looked up at his son as he creased his brow in concern. "Is everything okay?"
"That was the Order. They're sensing some magical activity here in Storybrooke," Neal said speaking more quietly, so the other patrons wouldn't hear.
Belle frowned. "Should we worry?"
"Not yet, but I've been told to keep an eye out for trouble," Neal replied.
"We'll help in any way we can," Rumple offered.
"Thank you, but I'm sure I can handle this," Neal said.
Rumple eyed his son suspiciously, not trusting his son could handle magical enemies on his own. "I'm sure you can, but I would rather you let us help, especially since I have direct experience with dark magicks. I could be useful."
"Papa, the Order doesn't know that you still are holding the Dark One's spirit inside. I don't want them finding out about you and it," Neal said. "They won't respond well to the choice you made."
"It's not as if I have to use magic and I'm sure the Order knows I have some knowledge of Dark Magicks," Rumple reasoned.
"Alright, but I will take care of whatever we are dealing with," Neal said determined to protect his parents, especially his father.
He put his hand up to silence them just as both opened there mouths to protest. "I'm not a kid anymore, so I'm not helpless. I also have experience with dark magicks beyond our world, more so than you do."
"Dark Magick is the same in any world, and I will not step aside that easily. You're my son. Now if you're worried about my little secret being revealed don't worry. I do know how to prevent people from finding out about the demon within," Rumple argued.
Rumple's expression told Neal that there was no point in trying to reason with his father. It was an expression that he often saw in Henry's eyes too.
"Just please be careful with whomever we end up dealing with, especially if the Order shows up," Neal said giving his father a warning look. He knew his father wouldn't just sit back and do nothing, especially if it involved him. His papa would risk everything for him, but as great as that was to know it also meant his father would willingly put himself in danger.
"I swear on my honor, as your father," Rumple said, but with a subtle smile.
Sighing, Neal shook his head, but kept silent his protests, because it wouldn't make a difference. Seeing that Neal was there Ella came up to the table and offered to take Neal's order.
"Um yeah, just a bacon cheese burger with a chocolate milkshake," Neal ordered.
"I will put that in right away," she said writing it down and once again leaving for the kitchen to place the order.
An expression came over Belle as her face whitened and she felt a funny sensation inside of her stomach. Grimacing she touched it as an uncertain look came on her face.
"Belle, darling, what is it?" Rumple questioned frowning as he looked at her.
Neal mimicked his father's expression asking, "What's wrong mama?"
"I don't know. I just feel a bit queasy," she answered. "I think I need to use the restroom."
Rumple nodded and quickly got out of the booth allowing her to pass. She walked steadily to bathroom, but as soon as she reached the door she pushed it rather aggressively open. Belle ran into one of the stalls and her knees barely touched the dirty floor as this morning's breakfast emerged from her mouth. After being ill for several minutes, she sat down on floor not caring that she got the bottom of her dress dirty as the ill feelings slowly faded.
"Belle, are you alright?" Ruby's muffled voice asked. "Rumple sent me in here to check on you."
Stretching her hand up, Belle unhooked the latch and pulled herself up. She held out her hands as she wobbled slightly. "I'm fine, Ruby," she said barely managing a smile as she emerged from the stall.
"Are you sure? You don't look fine," Ruby said.
"I am. I just got a little sick. You and the boys don't need to worry so much," Belle said her smile coming out more natural as she went about washing her hands.
Ruby's eyes followed Belle's movements fearing her friend might faint or she might get sick again, but she seemed fine if not a little pale and shaky.
Belle tossed her paper towel in the trash and smiled warmly at her friend touching her shoulder, "I'm fine, and if I get sick again I will let Rumple know. You know, I hear worrying gives you unnatural wrinkles."
Ruby just rolled her eyes and followed her friend out, returning to her task of serving customers.
Belle returned to the booth with nothing, but a smile. Unfortunately, she wasn't met with the same expression from her men as she slid her way back into her seat. Her lips turned down into a grim expression as she saw her husband and stepson's expressions. "I just got a little sick, that's all. It's nothing for you two to worry about."
"Are you sure?" Rumple asked.
She nodded. "I'm sure. I probably just had a stomach ache or ate too much."
"Do you need go home and rest mama?" Neal asked.
She waved the question in a look of dismissal, but continued to receive stares of concern from Rumple as they talked.
~Page Break~
A month later Belle shifted from side to side on the exam table at doctor's office making crinkling sounds due to the paper beneath her. She had been feeling ill all month, so Rumple insisted she go to the doctor, but she would only go if he didn't hover over her while she was being examined by Viktor. Now, he was sitting in one of the chairs twiddling his thumbs as the couple waited for Viktor to return with his diagnosis.
"I'm sure everything's fine and I just have the flu or something," Belle said trying to assure her husband and hide her own concerns.
Just as Rumple opened his mouth to speak Dr. Whale entered the room with his clipboard in hand and Rumple immediately stood up.
"Well, Mrs. Gold, it's not flu. You aren't even technically sick," Viktor said lip curving into a knowing smile.
"What do you mean she's not sick?! She's been throwing up constantly, so how can she not be sick?" Rumple asked.
"She's not sick because, she's pregnant," Viktor said.
Rumple's mouth hung rendering him speechless, which was a rare occurrence for the former dark one and spinner.
"I'm what?" Belle asked gripping the rubber that made up the examining table as she blinked owlishly at the doctor.
"I'm going to be a father, again," Rumple asked excitedly and finally regaining speech. He hoped it was true and Viktor wasn't playing a joke on him.
"Yes, congratulations you two," Viktor said smiling at his friends. He had known these two for a long time, Rumple even longer, and had watched their struggle with dealing with the judgments of others and Rumple's curse. Now, it was their turn to be happy.
"Wait, I can't be mother! We just got married and I don't know how to be a mother," Belle blurted out as she pressed her palm on the sheet trying to pull herself up. She wobbled slightly as she regained her balance. Tears began to slide down her cheeks. "I have no experience!"
"Calm down, Belle. Remember, you're married to a man, who raised a son all on his own," Viktor said giving her a kind, reassuring smile.
"And we have plenty of time to prepare," Rumple promised, taking her hand in his. "There are also plenty of books on parenting, and you can talk to Ms. Boyd as well." Though, he didn't have a high opinion of Ashley Boyd as a mother, she had improved over the last couple of years. "And like Viktor said, I practically raised Bae, until he was 14."
Belle nodded, but she still felt this sense of panic starting to bubble up inside her. Her own mother had been taken from her when she was young and there were only things a mother could teach her rather than her father. Even if she felt her father could help her, their relationship was still a bit rocky. She had picked a man, who had raised his own son for 14 years, so maybe there was little bit of hope that she could handle this.
