It had been two months since the incident with the Highland royals. They were still dolls for Rose and she always had at least one of them with her all the time. If only she knew, Rumple thought. Of course, she wouldn't remember that little encounter and he would never tell her who they were. He would forever let her think that they were just ordinary toys. They deserved a much worse fate, but he felt this would do for now. They would be aware of everything that was going on. They could still see, feel, and hear everything that happened to them. They both spent a lot of time in Rose's mouth and they knew it.

Rose was almost seven months old and an expert crawler. She was always on the move. Rumple had to keep an even closer eye on her. Now that she could move on her own, she wanted to explore the entire castle on her own. Many times, she almost fell down the stairs or knocked over something large enough to hurt her. Rumple was glad he finally perfected the enchantment spell on the castle. Rose was now protected and taken care of when he wasn't around. Even when it was done, he was still hesitant to leave her. She hadn't been out of his care since he found her. He finally left one day and when he returned, she was sound asleep in her crib. She had been fed and cleaned. The more he left, the less worried he became and the more he trusted his own spell.

Since Rose had explored every room in the castle multiple times, he figured she was ready for new territory. He decided to take her out into the gardens. She would enjoy the new sights and fresh warm summer air. He brought her out to the flower garden. He laid a blanket on the ground and sat down, bringing her to his lap. She took in the new sights around her from the bright, clear sky to the singing birds to the flowers that blossomed around them. Rumple also pointed out a few squirrels and rabbits that wandered about. She squealed in excitement. Everything outside was new to her. Rumple smiled and kissed her head.

"Oh, Rose. You're such a precious child. You deserve better than me. A real family. A mother and father that love you and siblings to play with. I'll just fill your life with darkness and loneliness. I don't deserve to keep you as my daughter." Rose squirmed in his arms. She wanted to be put down. She wanted to go exploring. He gently placed her on the grass and she took off. Rumple was left alone with his thoughts. He should give her to a family. Parents who could give her what he couldn't. He thought so many times that he should, but he never did. He couldn't give her up. I'm a selfish man, he thought.

He got up and walked around. He saw her crawling near the rose bushes. The enchantment would keep her from being pricked by the thorns. He approached the center of the garden where the fountain was. He sat down and sighed. Why can't I do right by her?, he thought. He knew as a parent that you should always put the needs of your child over your own. She needed a real family. She needed friends. She needed to have a normal life. She couldn't have any of those things being raised by the Dark One. He could give her all the love in the world, but he could also give her darkness, isolation, and a void in her life that could never be filled.

He was interrupted by Rose's babbling. He looked up and saw her crawling over to him. She used his leg to pull herself up and stood by him. He smiled at her as he picked her up and stood her on his lap. She looked down at him with her bright and curious emerald eyes. Rumple suddenly felt a small tinge of anger when he looked into them. He saw her mother's cold and uncaring eyes. He remembered her venomous words as she said her child was a bastard that was disposed of. It took his strong willpower not to hurt the child. He had to remember that she wasn't her mother. She wasn't anything like her and she never would be. Not if he had anything to say about it.

"Pa...Pa." Rumple's eyes widened a bit.

"What did you say?"

"Pa...Pa. Papa." No words could describe the joy and happiness he felt in that moment. Not only had she said her first word, she acknowledged him as her papa. He was her papa and she knew it. He kissed her cheek and hugged her.

"That's right, flower. I'm your papa and I always will be." He sat her in his lap and looked over her. He noticed her hand were dirty and she had grass stains on her dress. It made since she was crawling around the garden. He stood up and held her to his hip as he walked them back to the castle. "I think it's time for someone's bath."

After he bathed her, he dressed her in a dark blue dress with black buckle shoes. He knew she would be back on the ground crawling, so he put her in something that wouldn't show as much dirt. He needed some gold for a potion he was working on, so he placed her on the floor as he sat at his spinning wheel. She wandered off while he spun. He knew exactly where she was and what she was doing. The castle would take care of her in case anything happened and he wasn't quick enough to stop it. After a few minutes, he had more than enough gold for his potion. As he got up, he heard Rose scream. He immediately transported to her in the kitchen. He worried if she had been hurt and the castle's enchantment didn't catch her. The smoke around him cleared and he saw her sitting in the middle of floor. She didn't look like she was hurt or in pain. She lifted her arms to him.

"Papa. Papa." He picked her up and held her on his hip. He went to examine her closer to see if something was wrong with her that he didn't notice. She just clung onto his vest and laid her head on his shoulder. There was nothing wrong with her. She wasn't hurt. She just wanted her papa. He almost cried. This small child really loved him. She didn't see him as a monster. She didn't see the evil dark imp that others did. She saw him as her papa. That potion could wait for a while. His daughter needed him more and he wasn't going to disappoint her.