Belle woke up the next morning thinking about the night before. Rose had called her "mama" and she didn't know how to feel about it. She also thought about when Rose asked her if she loved Rumple. She didn't know how she felt about him. He was the Dark One. He took her away from her family and friends. She would never see them again because of him. He condemned her to a life of servitude to him and Rose. She should hate him, but she didn't. She should want to get away from him and go back home, but she didn't. She shouldn't care about Rose, but she did. Rose should be nothing more to her than a responsibility and a chore, but she wasn't. Rose shouldn't think of her as anything more than her nanny, but she didn't. Belle loved Rose, and it was obvious that Rose loved her back. She would have to talk to Rose about the whole "mama" situation sooner or later and sooner would be better.

Belle got up and fixed the sheets on her temporary bed. She then slipped on her stockings and shoes and headed downstairs. She knew that Rumple tended to Rose on the mornings before he left for a trip. She wasn't sure how early they woke, but they would be in the garden when she got up to prepare breakfast. She didn't know what they did in the gardens every morning, but she never asked. It was private time Rose had with her papa and Belle could respect that. She was heading to the kitchen when they came in from the gardens. Rose had her blanket in one hand and Rumple's hand in the other. Rumple looked up from his daughter to Belle.

"Ah, good morning, Belle." She nodded at him.

"Good morning, Rumpelstiltskin. Good morning, Rose."

"Morning...Belle." She noticed she hesitated. She must have remembered last night as well. She was half asleep when it happened. Belle figured it was as good a time as any to have their little discussion. She looked to Rumple.

"I, uh, I believe it's time for Rose and I to have that little talk. If it's alright with you." Rose looked up at him and he smiled at her and gently stroked her hair to reassure that she wasn't in trouble. He then turned his attention back to Belle.

"It's fine. I still have a few preparations to make for my journey." He walked Rose over to Belle and released her hand. "I'll be in my tower if you need me. I'll be departing in an hour, so make it quick."

"Alright. This shouldn't take too long." He nodded and headed for his tower. Belle looked down to Rose. "Sweetheart, we need to talk about something important."

"What?" Belle held her hand out to her and she took it. She led the child over to the table and lifted her up to sit on it. She sat next to her. It took her a moment to figure out how to start.

"Last night, after you had your bad dream, we talked a little bit. Before you fell asleep, you...you called me 'mama.' Do you remember that?" She nodded.

"Yeah. Was that wrong?" There was no definite answer for that. Rumple didn't think anything of it and said it was Belle's decision. She didn't know if he really didn't care or if he just didn't say anything. He was letting her have more of a say when it came to Rose. In the beginning, he would make the rules and restrictions of taking care of her. After a while, he let her make decisions of what she thought was best. Was he really going to let her decided if his daughter should think of her as her mother?

"Well...That's what we need to talk about. Do you feel that...I could be your mother?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Why?" Rose grew quiet and looked down at her blanket. Belle felt that she upset the girl. She took her tiny hand in hers. "It's okay, Rose. You can tell me how you feel."

"Because...you are my mama." Before Belle could question her, Rose pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and gave it to Belle. Belle unfolded it and saw a picture drawn on it. It was a little girl with brown hair and green eyes standing between a man and a woman. The man had green skin and eyes and brown hair. She figured it was Rumple. The woman had blue eyes and long brown curly hair. It looked like Belle. They were both holding one of Rose's hands.

"Is this all of us?" Rose nodded. Belle looked at the picture again. They looked like a happy family. Was this how Rose saw them? As a family? "When did you draw this?"

"Before Papa came home with you." Belle looked at Rose in surprise. Had she known Belle was coming? She couldn't have. She remembered when she first met Rose. The child was genuinely surprised to see Belle. She had never met another person before she got there.

"You...Did you know about me?" She shook her head.

"I had a dream about a lady being my mama. I saw her eyes and her hair and her dress." Belle noticed the woman in the picture she even wore the exact dress she was wearing. "She was pretty and nice and smart and loved me and Papa. Like you."

"Rose, I..." She was at a loss for words. Belle was kind, smart, and beautiful. There was no doubt that she loved Rose. There was a possibility that she could even love Rumple. Rose knew about her before she even came into her life. How could that even be possible? She would have to talk to Rumple about this. Could he have known? Belle knew that Rumple had the power to see into the future. Could Rose have it too? She wasn't his by blood and she didn't show any signs of having any magical abilities. She would need to sort a lot of that later. She turned her attention back to Rose. "Do you really believe this is me? That I'm the woman from your dreams?"

"Yeah. You don't wanna be my mama?" Belle's eyes widened.

"Oh, sweetheart. I'm not saying that at all. It's just..." Belle took a breath. "I've never been anyone mother before. It's new to me."

"So, you will be my mama?" Belle saw how her emerald eyes lit up in hope. She couldn't say no even if she wanted to. She smiled at her.

"Do you want me to be?" She nodded. "Then I don't see why not."

"Really?!"

"Yes." Rose smiled and wrapped her arms around Belle's torso. Belle chuckled as she hugged her back. Rose broke the hug and looked up at her.

"Do I still call you Belle?" Belle thought for a moment. She just accepted the title of Rose's mother. It would take some getting used to.

"You can call me whatever you wish." Rose smiled and hugged Belle again. Belle was no longer just Rose's caretaker. She was now her mother. She still felt awkward about the situation. Rose had a papa and now a mama. She now had two parents, but they weren't married. They weren't even in love. Rose wouldn't know the difference, but Belle would. It was odd, but she was there forever. She would get used to it sooner or later. For now, they both shared a love for Rose and that was all that mattered. Rose pulled away from the hug.

"Can we tell Papa?" He would find out anyway. Might as well tell him now.

"Of course, but why don't we wait until he comes down from the tower?"

"Okay."

"Until then, I should get started on breakfast." She hopped down from the table and helped Rose down.

"Can I help?" She smiled at her new "daughter."

"Why of course you can." They headed to the kitchen to get started. They had just finished a pan of biscuits when Rumple entered the kitchen. Rose saw him and excitedly ran to him.

"Papa! Papa! Guess what!" He caught her and lifted her into his arms.

"What is it, flower?"

"Belle is my mama now!" Rumple looked over to Belle.

"Is that right?" Belle nodded.

"I thought about it a lot. I remembered what you said about it being my decision and not being able to change her opinion about me. And, I couldn't find a reason to say no. Rose obviously thinks I'm an adequate mother. Who am I to argue with her?" Rumple smirked.

"I see you've excepted your new role quite easily."

"It'll take some getting used to, but I think I can manage." Rumple looked to Rose.

"Are you sure you're happy with this, flower?" She nodded.

"I have a mama. I'm happy." He smiled at her.

"Good. As long as you're happy." He kissed her cheek and placed her back on the floor. She took his hand and pulled him over to the table.

"Come on. We made biscuits." Belle had already prepared two plates with two biscuits each cut open. Rumple took his with honey while Rose took hers with strawberry jam. She served them with two cups of fresh squeezed orange juice. After everyone ate and the kitchen was cleaned up, Rumple was about to depart. Rose and Belle were with him in the Great Hall as he readied to leave.

"Alright. I'm leaving." He kneeled to eye level with Rose. "I'll be back in a few days. It'll be just like any other time I leave. You listen to Belle and do everything she tells you."

"I will, Papa."

"Good girl." He kissed her forehead and stood to look to Belle. "You know your duty. Tend to her, protect her, be with her at all times. You're her mother now. Don't take that title lightly."

"I don't. I promise everything will be fine."

"Good. I should be no longer than three days. When I return..."

"Things should be just as you left them. No leaving the castle and no going into your tower. We know." Rumple narrowed his eyes at Belle. He wanted to scold her for interrupting him, but he knew that might start an argument and that's the last thing he wanted, especially with Rose in the room. He'll never make that mistake again.

"Right. I'll take my leave now." With that, he disappeared in a purple smoke. Belle looked down to Rose.

"Well, there's no cooking or cleaning to be done at the moment. What do you want to do?" Rose smiled and tapped Belle's leg.

"Tag! You're it!" She took off towards the garden. Belle smiled and chased after the small child. They played Tag, Hide and Seek, and many other games until it was lunchtime. They both ate sandwiches. They also picked some apples to go with them. Belle would use the rest of the apples for a pie after dinner. After they ate, Belle read to Rose by the fireplace in the den. Rose snuggled up to Belle and cuddled her beloved rose blanket. She fell asleep after two stories. Belle carefully slipped from under her and went off to start some of her chores. She now knew how long all of her naps were. Her after lunch nap was two hours. Her after playtime nap was an hour. Her garden nap was around forty-five minutes.

Once Belle finished her cleaning, she still another hour until Rose woke up. She grabbed a book and went back to the den. She saw Rose still asleep on the small couch. She sat in the chair next to the couch and opened her book. The only sounds were the fire crackling and Rose's soft breathing. It was otherwise quiet. Belle then thought about how empty the castle really was. It would be like that for the next few days without Rumple. Even when it was that quiet, she knew that Rumple was up in his tower or at his spinning wheel or at least returning home later that night. It will be three days without him. Three days of just her and Rose. It relaxed her knowing that he wouldn't be constantly hovering over her when she was with Rose. It also frightened her. She was truly on her own with Rose for the next few days. She worried for if something were to happen that only Rumple could fix. She was Rose's "mother" now. Realization hit her that now Rose would look to her a lot more now. She was brought from her thoughts by Rose stirring. She was waking up. She sat up and stretched her arms, letting her blanket fall from her shoulders. Belle closed her book and stood up. Rose saw her and smiled sleepily at her. Belle smiled back.

"Hey there, sleepy head. Did you have a nice nap?" She nodded and yawned. Belle couldn't help but giggle at the adorable child rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Belle picked up her blanket and started to fold it up. "So, what do you wish to do now?"

"Ha bok." She spoke through a yawn. Belle giggled again.

"I'm sorry. What was that?" Rose looked up at her after blinking a few times.

"The book. About the girl and the nasty bugs and the fruit."

"You want to finish it?" She nodded. "Okay. We can do that. We can read it out in the garden if you'd like."

"Okay." She stood up and stretched again. She picked up her doll. It was the woman with green eyes and black hair. "I want my other doll. He likes the story."

"Does he now? I didn't know that." She didn't even know she had given the dolls personalities. She mostly just had them with her.

"Yeah. He likes to read. She likes to play." Belle smiled at her.

"Well, why don't we go get him so he can know how the story ends." She took Rose's hand and led her upstairs. Belle stopped at Rose's door, but Rose kept pulling her. "Sweetheart, your room is here."

"I know. He's in Papa's room." Belle was unsure about going into Rumple's room. He didn't specifically say they weren't allowed in there, but she felt it was somewhere they weren't supposed to go.

"I don't think we should go in your father's room when he's not here."

"But I always go in Papa's room." Belle didn't want her in there, but she wanted her doll.

"Alright, but only to get your doll. Don't touch anything else, okay?"

"Okay." They walked over to Rumple's room. Rose opened the door and went in. Belle followed closely behind her. Rumple's room was dark and uninviting. The heavy curtains covered the windows blocking outside world. He had a large king sized bed in the middle of the room with a nightstand and a dresser. Rose placed her girl doll on the nightstand and pulled open the curtains. Belle helped her and the room flooded with light from the sun. With more light, Belle could see that he kept his room very clean. Nothing was on the floor that wasn't supposed to be. She figured since Rose had her night terrors, she would probably go in his room in the middle of the night and he didn't want her to trip over anything.

"Rose, I don't see your doll anywhere. Are you sure he's in here?"

"Yeah. He likes to hide." Before Belle could question it, Rose dove under the bed. Rose saw her doll and grabbed him. "Found him!"

"Good. Now let's go." As she backed from under the bed, she knocked against the nightstand, knocking over her doll and a vial that was next to it. The vial broke and the contents spilled on her doll. Rose moved and stood up to see her doll shimmer with a light blue light. Belle saw it too and her eyes widened. "Rose, what did you do?"

"I didn't mean to!" They backed away from the doll when it started to change size. It grew and it flashed. When the light cleared, they looked down and saw the doll was no longer a doll. It was now a real woman. The woman stood up and looked at herself.

"I'm back. I'm back!" Belle held Rose behind her. The woman turned around and faced them. Belle narrowed her eyes, then widened them. "Elizabeth?"

"Belle? It is you!" Rose stayed quiet and clung to Belle's dress. She didn't know what else to do.

"Yes. But...you. What happened to you? You and your father went missing. Many believe you to be dead."

"After my fate of the last four years, I would have welcomed death." Belle was confused.

"But...wait. Why were you a doll?"

"After my father and I came to see the Dark One for his assistance, he denied us and turned us both to dolls." Elizabeth looked down and noticed Rose hiding behind Belle and became furious. "Because of her!"

"What?" Belle looked down to Rose, then back to Elizabeth. "What do you mean because of her?"

"Do you not see that resemblance? She's my child." Rose's eyes widened. This was her mama. Her real mama. She stepped from behind her.

"Mama?" She stepped over and looked up at her. "Are you my mama?"

"I just said that." Rose smiled and hugged her legs.

"Mama." Belle was slightly hurt. She had just became Rose's mother and now she found her real one. She's had her real mother with her the entire time and she never knew. Elizabeth scoffed at the small child.

"Get off of me, you bastard child!" She pushed Rose on the ground. Belle quickly went to her and picked her up.

"Elizabeth!" Belle held Rose as she started to cry. "How could you do that? She's your daughter!"

"A bastard daughter I never wanted! That's why the Dark One turned me and my father to dolls! He found her in the forest where I left her to die! He said he was teaching us a lesson!"

"And you've obviously learned nothing over the years!" Elizabeth stared at Belle in disbelief as she tried to soothe the crying child.

"Are you saying you care for that child? She is a bastard. You of all people should know how unacceptable that is. And then she was raised by the Dark One. She is nothing but a waste of space!" Rose squirmed her way out of Belle's arms and ran out of the room crying.

"Rose!" Belle turned to the princess. "Do you see what you've done? You hurt the feelings of your own daughter!"

"A daughter that should never have existed." She noticed the doll of her father on the ground and picked it up. "Return my father to his human self so that we may go."

"I don't know how, nor would I. After what you just did, you think you're just going to walk out?"

"Yes. And we will send our army to kill the Dark One and that bastard child he adopted. If you help me, I can return you home to your family." Belle was in disbelief. She had known Elizabeth since childhood. This was not the same person she grew up with.

"What has happened to you? You were never like this when you were younger."

"It's called growing up, Belle. I know my duties and responsibilities and raising a filthy blooded child isn't one of them! And if you won't help me, I'll find someone who will." She started to walk out of the room. Belle was beyond furious. Not only did she disown her daughter and spoke rudely of her in front of her, she also threatened to kill her and Rumple. Without thinking, she grabbed an empty bottle from the nightstand and brought it to the back of Elizabeth's head. The glass smashed and Elizabeth fell to the ground unconscious. Belle could see that she was still alive. She couldn't let her leave. Rumple wouldn't be happy that she's returned to her human form. He could deal with her when he returned from his trip. Belle grabbed Elizabeth and brought her down the two flights of stairs to the dungeon where Robin Hood was once held. She chained her up and left her there. She then went to find Rose. She knew she would be in the garden. Belle found her under one of the apple trees still crying her eyes out. Belle went and sat next to her. She pulled her into a loving embrace.

"Rose..." Rose wrapped her arms around Belle as she continued to cry.

"My...mama...doesn't...love...me." She started to cry even harder. Belle heart broke to see Rose that upset. Belle would usually think the worst of Rumple when he did something like that to people, but this time she could understand. They didn't care about Rose. Her own flesh and blood. They wanted her gone. If it wasn't for Rumple finding her, she would've died a long time ago and they wouldn't have cared. Belle held Rose tighter.

"That's not true, Rose." She looked up through teary eyes.

"But...she..."

"I'm your mama now, remember?"

"But...she..."

"I know. She may be your birth mother, but that doesn't make her your mama." Rose tilted her head in confusion. "A mother is defined as a woman who gives birth to a child. A real mother, or a mama, is woman who loves and cares for their child. A mama protects their child and does everything to make sure that their child has what they need to be healthy and happy and safe no matter what. A mama is willing to trade her own life for their child's. Now, which would you rather have? A mother or a mama."

"Mama."

"And that's exactly what you have with me. I may not have given birth to you, but that doesn't make me love you any less. The same for your papa. He may not be your birth father, but that doesn't make him treat you as anything other than his. You should be happy that you have a mama and papa that love you as much as we do." Belle wiped the tears from Rose's eyes and smiled at her. "No matter what happens, don't you ever forget that. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Good." She hugged the child close to her. "I love you, Rose."

"I love you, Mama." Belle smiled and kissed Rose's head. They sat there for a moment in silence. "Mama?"

"Yes?"

"Where do babies come from?" Belle nervously laughed.

"Uh, that's a talk for when you're older. Much older."