A year. An entire year. Rumpelstiltskin couldn't believe it. It had been a year since he found Rose in the woods and took her in as his daughter. She had said her first word and took her first crawl with him. She was very close to walking. He couldn't believe how fast she was growing. Time seemed to fly by. It felt like just yesterday she was a tiny helpless newborn. She was now close to toddling. She was growing up so fast, but she still had a long way to go. He would be there with her every step of the way.
Rumple didn't know when her exact birthday was, so he decided to celebrate the day he found her. That would be her birthday from now on. He thought back to Baelfire's first birthday. He and Milah had saved up enough gold to buy a pound of chocolate. Milah baked a cake out of it and Rumple made a shawl from his best wool. Bae kept that shawl for years. He refused to part with it. Rumple would always had to make adjustments for he could always wear it. Rumple still had the shawl. It was with the rest of Baelfire's things in one of the many rooms. He would hold onto them forever until he found him.
Rumple was going to make a cake for Rose and get her a present. He knew that she loved strawberries and figured she would love a strawberry cake. With her still being a baby, her present wouldn't have to be something extravagant and over the top. She would enjoy something simple like a new toy or a handmade blanket. He had started weaving one for her a few months prior and it was almost done. He knew she would love it. He was just finishing it when he heard her crawl into the room. He hid it from her view, knowing the gold woven into it would catch her attention. He walked over to her and lifted her into his arms.
"It's a very special day for you, flower. We're going to be celebrating the day you came into my life. The day you were given a chance at life." He sat in a chair on the opposite side of the room and sat her in his lap. He stared lovingly at the adorably pudgy child. He wondered how Baelfire would react to his new little sister if he ever got to meet her. He still didn't know when he would be reunited with his son, but he knew it would take a long time. All he knew at first was that it would require a curse that he wouldn't cast nor break. He now knew who would cast it and who would break it. It would take time and he needed to be patient. She would seek him out when she needed him.
He was brought from his thoughts by Rose grabbing his nose. He laughed and moved her hand away. She had a habit of grabbing his nose whenever she got the chance. He never understood her fascination with it, but he didn't try to. She was fascinated by a lot of things around her. He picked her up and they headed down into the kitchen. He wanted to check on the cake that was baking. Instead of placing her on the floor like usually did, he placed her in her high chair. Last time she was on the floor while he was cooking, her curiosity got the better of her and she nearly burned her hand off. Even with the enchantment on the castle, he wanted her to know that she shouldn't play with the oven.
The cake was nearly done. It would be ready in a few minutes. Once he closed the oven, he let Rose out of her chair and she took off crawling out of the kitchen. He kept an eye on her from the kitchen doorway. He watched as she crawled around and under the large table. She then pulled herself into a standing position on the chair. Rumple had seen her do this many times. She was trying to walk on her own. Rumple was teaching her to stand and walk as well. Crawling wasn't cutting it for her anymore. She was very eager to get on two feet. She wanted to walk like her papa. She stood at the chair for a while. He knew what she was going to do. She was going to try and walk again. Every time she did, she would take a step, then fall on her hands and knees. She would do this two or three times at a time before she gave up and crawled away. Rumple knew one day she would walk. She was getting closer and closer everyday. He would always encourage her to try and walk over to him. This time was no different.
"Come on, flower. Walk to papa. You can do it." He held his arms out to her. She always took any invitation to be near her papa. With one hand on the chair, she took a step. She let go of it as she took the second. She took another step, then another. She didn't stumble or fall. She took one step after another. Rumple lightly gasped. She was walking. His little Rose was walking. And she was walking towards him. She walked all the way over to him and into his arms. He picked her up and hugged and kissed her. "You did it, flower! You took your first steps! Papa is so proud of you!"
"Papa. Papa." He smiled and kissed her cheek again. He was happy. He was happy she took her first steps. He was happy she walked to him. He was happy she was in his life. He never thought he would have the chance to be a father again. Fate had finally been kind to him and he wasn't going to ruin this gift.
"Let's check on that cake, shall we?" They went back in the kitchen and Rumple took the cake out of the oven. It needed to cool before he could add the icing. He used that time to help Rose get more practice walking around the kitchen. He then put her in her chair while he iced the cake next to her. She kept reaching for the spatula in Rumple's hand, but he kept it from her. He got her a spoon, scooped up a bit of icing, and gave it to her. She stuffed the spoon into her mouth and sucked on it like it was a piece of candy. After the icing was gone, she continued to suck on it like more would magically appear. That gave Rumple enough time to fully ice the single layer cake. He wasn't a big fan of strawberry, but he knew she loved it. He produced a small candle and stuck it in the middle of the cake and lit it. "Happy birthday, Rose. Make a wish and blow."
She blew out the candle immediately. He didn't know if she actually made a wish, but it didn't matter. If she wanted it, he would get it for her. She would want for nothing for the rest of her life. He cut her a piece of cake and started to feed her. He knew she enjoyed the cake. Once she was done, she wanted more. He chuckled as she reached for the rest of the cake.
"Now, now, flower. There will be more cake tomorrow. Now, it's time for your present." He conjured up a box with a bright pink wrapper. He remembered as a child, Baelfire would love opening presents rather than be handed one. He was the same when he was younger. He figured she would enjoy it as well. And he was right. Rose tore the paper from the box excitedly. She played with the wrappers for a moment before she took the top off the box. Rumple reached inside and pulled out the completed blanket. It was light pink with a design of three roses in the middle with a gold vine wrapped around the stems. The blanket even smelled lightly of roses. "It's your new blanket, flower."
"Wose." She grabbed the blanket and covered her face with it. Rumple chuckled at the sight. She knew the rose whenever she saw and smelled it. They spent the rest of the day out in the gardens. Rose never let go of her blanket. When it was time for her bath, Rumple had a time getting it away from her for five minutes. Once she was cleaned and dressed for bed, he wrapped her in the soft blanket and placed her in her crib.
"Goodnight, my beautiful flower. Happy birthday."