The next three days were spent almost the same way each day. Belle would wake up with Rose in her bed and they would both go out to watch the sunrise. Belle unbraided, combed, and re-braided Rose's hair. Then, they went in for breakfast. After they cleaned up the kitchen, Belle would go about her chores with Rose on her heels. They would then play in the garden until lunchtime. When Rose took her nap, Belle brought some food to Elizabeth, who was still in the dungeon. Rose seemed to have forgotten that she was even in the castle. When Rose woke up, they would play some more, then they would pick out a book to read in Belle's library. They were in the middle of reading when Rose interrupted Belle.

"When is Papa coming home?" Belle couldn't answer that. Rumple said he would be gone for no more than three days. It was the third day and he still hadn't returned. It was early in the evening and had plenty of time before the day ended for him to come back. In all honesty, Belle missed him as well. The castle felt empty without his impish flare around. She enjoyed being alone with Rose and having more bonding time with her, but she wanted him to return soon.

"I don't know, sweetheart. I'm sure he'll be back sometime today. We'll just have to wait and see." A purple smoke emerged in front of them.

"Well, your wait is over, for I have returned." Rose jumped out of Belle's lap and ran to hug him.

"Papa!" He picked her up and hugged her. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, flower." Belle closed the book and stood. Rose pulled her braid up.

"Look at my hair!" He smiled as he felt the braid.

"I see. It's very nice. Did Belle do that?"

"Yeah. She said we can do more." Rumple looked to Belle.

"If that's okay with you, Rumple."

"It's fine with me. As long as Rose enjoys it, then by all means, style her hair. As long as she keeps all of it." Belle giggled.

"I promise she will have every hair." She smiled at him and he smiled back as he placed Rose back on the ground.

"Oh. I almost forgot. I come bearing gifts." He waved his hand and a red box appeared. He handed the box to Rose. "This one is for you, flower."

"What is it?"

"Open it." She took the box and opened it. She reached in and pulled out a new doll. It had brown eyes and blonde hair. It wore a pink play dress and black shoes. Rose smiled at it in amazement, then frowned. Rumple saw this and was confused. "What's the matter, flower?"

"Who is this?" Rumple's brow knitted in confusion while Belle's eyes widened in shock.

"What do you mean?" Before Rose could answer, Belle stepped in.

"Actually, that was something I wanted to talk to you about when you returned. A while after you left, we had...a bit of a mishap." His eyes narrowed.

"What sort of mishap?" Rose heard the angry tone in his voice and backed up into Belle. She looked down at her, then back to Rumple. He calmed down a bit, then looked down at her. "Rose, darling. Why don't you go out to the garden while Belle and I talk? We won't be long."

"Are you gonna yell at her?" Rumple couldn't promise that he wouldn't. He didn't know what the mishap was, but he knew what she was really afraid of. She was afraid that he would hurt Belle or her if he got angry enough.

"I will try not to. Don't worry. We'll get everything sorted out and things will be fine. Go on." She was still unsure, but she headed out of the library, taking her new doll with her. Once she was gone, Rumple turned back to Belle. "Now, what was this little mishap?"

"Well, Rose and I were going to read a book out in the garden after I finished cleaning. She wanted to get one of her dolls, but it was in your bed chambers. Rose insisted on having the doll, so we went into to get it. She brought along her other doll with her and she...we accidently knocked over a vial on your nightstand. She vial broke and whatever was inside of it spilled onto the doll." His eyes widened. He didn't know what to be angrier about. That they went into his bed chambers without him there or that they restored one of the prisoner dolls to their human form. He narrowed his eyes again.

"Which doll?" Belle took a breath.

"Elizabeth." Rumple's eyes widened once again. The woman who abandoned Rose and left her for dead was walking around somewhere alive and in her human form.

"And let me guess. You set her free because you saw the good in her?" Belle's anger flared, but not for him accusing her of freeing the princess. She remembered the horrible things the woman said about Rose, her own daughter. She couldn't find any good in her. The Elizabeth that she grew up with and was friends with was not the same woman locked up in the dungeon.

"No, I didn't." Rumple looked at her in confusion. He expected her to say yes and list reasons why, but she said no. She didn't release someone that he had punished.

"Really? Then what happened?" Belle bit her tongue for she had many choice words of the woman.

"After she returned to herself, she told me what happened with Rose. That she abandoned her in the forest as a baby and how she wished that she had died." Rumple remembered how she said the same to him. Four years of being with Rose in doll form and she still hated the child. He then thought of something.

"Where was Rose during this?" Belle lowered her gaze as she remembered the pain and hurt in Rose's eyes. It took all of her might to hold back her tears. Rumple noticed this and knew. "She was in the room, wasn't she?"

"Right in front of her. When Rose found out it was her mother, she was happy. She hugged her and called her 'mama.'"

"And what did she do?" Belle looked up and met his gaze with anger in her eyes.

"She pushed her off and called her a bastard. She told her to her face how she never should have existed and that she should've died! Rose was devastated and ran out the room crying! Her own child! Who is that heartless?! She..." She began to pace back and forth as she struggled for her words. Rumple saw how upset and flustered Belle was about the situation. He had never seen her like that. So angry. So passionate. So frustrated. She really cared about Rose. To see her get that upset over someone speaking badly of Rose and to know what happened to her, Rumple knew without a doubt that Belle truly loved and cared for his daughter. He stopped her and held her in place.

"Belle, calm down. Breathe." She took a deep breath and calmed down a bit. "What happened after that?"

"She wanted to leave to restore her father and return home. She threatened to send an army to kill you and Rose. I couldn't just let her do that, so I snapped. I grabbed a bottle and struck her with it. Then I locked her in the dungeon and she's still down there now." Rumple was happy to know she wasn't released. He was also happy that it was Belle that put her down there. Ever since she got there, she had gone on about being a hero and saving people and whatnot. It was somewhat amusing to know that his little maid assaulted someone and then locked them away in a dungeon. He would applaud her for it later.

"And what of Rose? What happened?" Belle calmed down more.

"She was so upset. She was crying her eyes out in the garden. She had just found out that her birth mother didn't love her and it crushed her. She just wants a mother that loves her."

"And what did you do?" She gave a little smile.

"I let her know that she had a mother that loves her now. She wanted me to be her mother, and I am. I love her, I care for her, I would do anything for her. And she knows that now. Elizabeth may not appreciate that beauty and wonder of Rose, but I always will. I reassured her that as long as I'm around, she will always have a mother." Rumple was touched that Belle was so passionate about being a mother to his daughter. She would be the light in her life.

"Well, I would say you handled things quite well on your own. You took care of my daughter, you comforted her, and you handled an unwanted guest. Perhaps I should leave for longer next time." Belle giggled at his quip.

"I wouldn't do that. I think Rose would miss you too much."

"Perhaps. Things are quite boring without me, aren't they?" She giggled again.

"Yes. Your dramatic flare is missed." He simply smiled at her. "So, what are you going to do about Elizabeth?"

"I'll deal with her later. For now, I must convince my daughter that her new doll is not a real person." Belle nodded.

"And also that you didn't get angry with me?" He wasn't thinking about that, but he might as well. Rose did get worried when he and Belle talked alone. She always thought they were going to argue. They haven't had an argument since the Robin Hood incident, but she was still on edge sometimes.

"I suppose. That might go better if we're both there to tell her the same thing." She nodded again.

"I agree." They left the library and went to look for Rose in the garden. They found her under one of the apple trees. She was examining her new doll, trying to figure out if it was real or not.

"Rose." She looked up and saw them approaching her. Rumple sat down on one side of her and Belle sat on the other. "We need to have a talk, flower."

"Are you mad?" He put his arm around her.

"No. I'm not mad. Belle told me what happened with your doll and I know it was an accident. No one's in trouble." Rose was happy that he wasn't angry at her or Belle, but she still thought about her birth mother. All the mean things she said about her. She couldn't understand why. She never did anything to her. Why did she hate her so much? She also wondered where she was. She hadn't thought about her since that day. Now that the subject has resurfaced, she wondered what Belle did with her. Did she let her go? Is she back home with her family?

"Where is she?" Rumple and Belle looked at one another. She wanted to know what became of her. Rumple didn't know if he wanted to tell her. He's never lied to her before and he didn't want to unless necessary. He didn't want to risk it. She would find out eventually that she was still in the castle.

"She's down in the dungeon. She can't hurt you." She wasn't worried about that. She knew that as long as Rumple was around, nothing would hurt her. And now that Belle was there, she would protect her as well. She wasn't worried about her safety at the moment.

"I wanna see her." Rumple and Belle looked at her in shock. Why did she want to see the woman that wanted her dead? The woman that told her to her face that she never should've existed. The woman that left her in the forest for the wolves to have at her.

"I don't think that's a good idea, flower."

"But you said if I want something, I can have it. You promised." Rumple cursed himself. He never broke a promise with her. Had he known she would ask for something like this, he never would've made that promise. He couldn't go back on his word. She would never trust him again if he did.

"And I always keep my promises, don't I?" Belle's eyes widened in shock. Was he seriously going to let her see that woman?

"Rumpelstiltskin, I don't think..." He raised his hand to stop her. He knew exactly what she was thinking. He was thinking the same thing.

"I know what you're going to say, dearie, and I agree, but I made a deal. And Rumpelstiltskin never breaks a deal." Rose looked to Belle and held her hand.

"It's okay. You're still my mama." Belle smiled at her. That wasn't even her concern. She knew Rose would always look at her as her mother. And she would always look at her as her daughter. She was more worried about Elizabeth and the things she would say to Rose. She's already told her that she didn't want her and wanted her to die. What more could she possibly say that could hurt the child more? Belle squeezed Rose's hand.

"I know, sweetheart. And you're still my daughter." Rose smiled and looked back to Rumple.

"So, can I see her?" Rumple didn't want her to, but a promise was a promise.

"Yes, but not now. It's getting late and it's almost dinner time. Perhaps in the morning." Rose nodded.

"Okay, Papa."

"Good." Belle still had her doubts about the situation, but Rumple had already made up his mind. She was going to be there when they went to see Elizabeth. If Rumple got angry enough, there's no telling what he would do to her in front of Rose. With the matter said and done, Belle began to stand.

"Well, I better go start on dinner." Rose jumped up.

"Can I help?" Belle smiled. She always wanted to help with everything. Who was Belle to say no to her?

"Of course you can." Rose took Belle's hand in her own. They headed inside, followed by Rumple. Once they were inside, Belle and Rose headed for the kitchen while Rumple lingered in the doorway. He looked towards the dungeons. Rose noticed he stopped.

"Papa?" He looked back to her. "Are you coming?"

"In a moment, flower. I need to get settled. The past few days have been very long. You go ahead. I'll be down for dinner."

"Okay." Rose pulled Belle into the kitchen. Rumple went down into the dungeon. He found the room where Elizabeth was. He went in and internally smiled as he saw her chained up to the wall. He felt somewhat proud of Belle for not only locking her up, but also chaining her up. She looked up and flinched as she saw him.

"Dark One." He closed and locked the door behind him.

"Let's have a talk, shall we, dearie?"