4
Meeting the Twins
Belle and the twins slept for a full three hours afterwards, giving Rumple, Bae, and the kids time to make phone calls, take showers and eat something. Jimmy had gone upstairs while the twins and Belle were asleep, to see the babies with Rumple.
He had stared at the tiny infants and murmured, "Wow, Mr. Gold! They're really small! And . . . umm . . . why're they so red? Like they've been sunburned?"
"It's because getting born is a rough process. Those wee things have been squished and squeezed through the birth canal pretty hard, so that's why they're all red and kind of wrinkled looking. All babies are like that at first. They'll look differently in about a week or so. Alina did," Gold told him confidently. "What matters right now is they're breathing correctly and everything."
Jimmy sniffed the air. "Hey, why's it smell like a rose garden in here?"
"Because Belle had a craving for flowers when she was pregnant and she had a trellis installed in here and pots of flowers placed on my balcony and so forth. And when my son was born, the flowers all burst into bloom . . . like they were welcoming them."
Jimmy's dark eyes widened. "Y'mean . . . they're magical kids?"
"Yes, I have no doubt of that. And more than that, they have fairy magic," Rumple said. "I believe that's why Dylan's eyes are green. And why Daria's ears are slightly pointed. It's the fairy traits expressing themselves."
Jimmy whistled. "Hells bells, Mr. Gold! You're gonna have your hands full when they're Regina's age."
"Don't remind me," the pawnbroker sighed. "I'm going to have to read up on what magic they might have inherited in the book Rhea gave me, so I can prepare for it. And they need to be taught to only do magic when I say so, like my other apprentices."
"Uh . . . good luck with that," Jimmy smirked.
Gold flashed him a rather annoyed look, though he feared that the snarky pirate was right. These two were probably going to give him a run for his money, and turn his hair gray before they were five. Ah well, that's the joy of having children.
Then they tiptoed downstairs again to get something to eat, leaving mama and babies contentedly sleeping.
Page~*~*~*~*~Break
Belle woke and went to use the bathroom, finding she was still somewhat sore but gradually the pain would fade, as it had before. Rumple had dressed her in the new set of loungewear he'd bought her for Christmas after he'd cleaned her up, and she found them extremely comfy and very soft. She found a glass of ice water with a slice of lemon in it on the nightstand, and as she drank it, one of the twins woke and began fussing.
Belle immediately put down the glass and reached into the little wicker bassinet on the bed and picked up her son, who was awake and moving his small feet and hands. "What's the matter, Dylan? Are you hungry?" she smiled at her son, who was still slightly squished looking, but had a tiny snub nose and the biggest pair of green eyes she'd ever seen. She knew green was not the usual color of a newborn's eyes, but she thought him perfectly lovely because he was different. He had a thatch of reddish brown hair and fit comfortably in her arm.
As soon as she held him alongside her, Dylan turned his head and nuzzled her breast, making soft whimpering noises. "Shh, pretty boy. I know, you want to eat," she crooned, rocking him gently while she undid the snaps on the lounge top. "I'm so lucky your papa knows that I'd need a top like this," she told her son, and found a soft baby cloth as well to put on her opposite shoulder inside the bassinet.
Her son kicked his feet and gripped her with a hand, crying a little louder now.
"Hey, little man. Don't you be impatient with your mama," Belle chuckled. "It's been a long long time since I've done this. And I only got to feed your older sister once before your Auntie Alice had to take her away and hide her from your crazy grandpa. Hmm . . . now let's see if I remember this right . . ."
Dylan was rooting now, his little mouth opening and shutting, plainly hungry, and trying to latch onto Belle.
"Okay, okay. Just a minute," she said, and gently squeezed her nipple until a drop of yellowish fluid, called colostrum emerged. Then she guided the breast towards her son's questing mouth. "There you go, baby."
Dylan quickly latched on and began suckling, his green eyes going to half-mast as he did so. He relaxed in Belle's arm, happy now that he was finally eating.
Belle sighed and gazed lovingly down at her son, wincing a little because at first she was tender there, but she had read this was normal at first and in a few days she would stop being so sensitive.
No sooner had she relaxed against the pillows with her son, then his twin woke and began squirming and wailing.
Unlike her brother, Daria had a higher pitched and louder cry, and it brought both her father and two other unexpected visitors into the bedroom.
"Dearie, is everything okay?" Rumple asked in concern as he shoved open the door, and entered the room, along with his collie and his cat. "Freya practically dragged me up here, and Nala too."
Before Belle could reply, Nala had sprang up onto the bed and came over to the bassinet. The black cat made a graceful leap into the wicker basket and nuzzled the crying baby, making an odd sort of meow and purring.
Freya, not to be outdone, heaved her front paws onto the bed and cried, obviously upset she couldn't see the baby too.
"What on earth?" Belle gasped. "Rumple, the animals . . .what's gotten into them?"
Rumple goggled at the sight of his cat, who avoided Regina like the plague, actually curled up next to his daughter, purring like a washing machine gone berserk. And Freya was whining and wagging her tail like crazy, her paws scrabbling on the blanket. Daria, who had been howling loudly, suddenly stopped crying so much and turned her head and looked at the cat beside her and cooed at Nala.
And Nala purred and rubbed her head against the baby's cheek, like the infant were her kitten, even though she was barely out of kittenhood herself.
"Well, I'll be!" Rumple said. He picked up Freya, saying, "Relax, Freya, lass!" and held her over the bassinet. "See? This is Daria, my daughter."
The little collie yipped and wagged her tail even harder, and Daria suddenly looked towards Freya and put out a hand to touch the puppy's nose, giving a soft gurgle as she did so.
And Rumple could swear he saw golden sparkles drifting through the air.
"Rumple! They love her!" Belle observed. "I've never seen anything like that!"
"I'd say it's her magic, dearie. Maybe that's the reason her ears are pointed. Because she can talk to animals or something," Rumple said. "It's certainly uncanny the way Nala's taken to her." He turned and showed Freya Dylan, and the collie snuffled at him and wagged her tail, but didn't seem as excited.
Rumple set his dog down and said, "Sit, Freya!"
The little collie sat, and looked up at him for a treat, which he gave to her from a bag he had in his night table drawer.
By then, his baby girl was fussing again, and he gently reached into the bassinet and picked her up. "Hey, sweet thing. You're awful loud for such an itty bitty scrap, aren't you?"
Daria whimpered and waved her small fists at him, her dark blue eyes tracking on him slightly. Then she scrunched up her nose and bawled.
"My, you've got some temper, don't you, my girl?" Rumple chuckled, holding the baby close to him. "I can tell already which one's going to give me the most headaches, right, my sassy little imp? Hmm? Yes, you're going to have me turn all the boys into snails and have a slug museum, aren't you?"
"Rumple, my God!" Belle snickered. "Here, put her in my other arm . . . no, wait, I'm going to switch sides." She gently disengaged Dylan and put him on the other side to feed, then said, "Okay, let me feed her now, before she bursts a blood vessel."
Rumple gently lay Daria in the crook of Belle's arm, and helped her position the baby so she could latch on and feed as well. "There you go, Little Miss Noisy," he murmured, as his daughter suckled happily.
Nala jumped out of the bassinet and rubbed up against Rumple's hand, purring.
"Okay, baby. Your papa hasn't forgotten you, silly kitty." He stroked the cat's back, and Nala arched into his hand.
At the same moment, Freya jumped on his leg and he petted her ears with his other hand. "You know, between pets and babies, I'm going to need eight arms like an octopus," he joked.
"Well, it's a miracle they aren't jealous of the babies," Belle remarked, smiling at her husband.
"I think, dearie, that we'll be seeing a lot of new things from these two," Rumple predicted. He continued petting his dog and Nala while watching the twins nurse, marveling at how his family was finally complete, and how lovely his wife looked as she nursed, like those porcelain statues of the Madonna and child in the Vatican.
So very beautiful . . . and I'm the luckiest man alive, in both realms, he thought, and thanked heaven that nothing had gone wrong during the birth and that Belle and the twins were thriving. He sat down on the bed next to them and just gazed at them, thinking at how amazing it was that they were finally here, his wee ones, and how perfect they were, green eyes, pointed ears, and all.
He felt the same sort of overwhelming perfect protective love that he had the day Alice had placed a squalling Alina in his arms, and he knew Belle felt the same way as he did. And unlike the last time, these babies would grow up with both their parents, and nothing would ever separate them, not dark curses or evil queens or crazy fathers.
He leaned on his elbow on the bed, a smile of utter delight stealing over him. You are mine, and what is mine shall remain so forever, no matter if you have wings or can speak the tongues of birds or make plants grow, I shall keep you safe and love you forever, my precious golden miracles, as I do all of my family.
Belle lifted her eyes and they met her husband's. She promptly teared up upon seeing the utter love within them, and she gave him one of her brilliant smiles in return. "Aren't they just wonderful?"
"Yes, dearie. And I can't wait for them to meet the rest of the family." Then he snuggled closer to them, watching with wide-eyed curiosity, as this was something totally new to him. He hadn't seen anything like this in all of his centuries, and he found it the most fascinating and beautiful thing imaginable, this bond between mother and child, this perfect love, and he was awed and humbled to be allowed to witness it.
Belle nursed for a few more minutes, then she shifted and said, "Rumple, will you take Dylan and burp him?"
"Sure. Come to Papa, my little man," he leaned over and gently lifted the newborn, who could almost fit into his hand.
The baby fussed a little at being taken away from Belle, making small mewling cries of annoyance. Rumple draped him over his shoulder, saying softly, "Ah ah, Dylan. I know, you're angry I took you away from your mama, but you have to burp, dearie. Otherwise your tummy will hurt awfully, and we don't want that, do we?"
He began to gently yet firmly rub and pat his son on the back, his hands automatically recalling how to do this from years ago with Alina. His son squalled a little, showing his own burst of temper, and Rumple began to hum as he rubbed and patted.
At his feet, his collie whined and gave him a concerned look.
"Don't look at me like that. He's not being tormented. He needs to burp and he's probably a wee bit colicky," Rumple told Freya. "Come on, son. Give me one big one." He patted a little more firmly. "Attaboy!" he said, just as Dylan let out a rather loud burp. "See? Doesn't that feel better?" He shifted the baby slightly, then made a face. "Uh, Belle? I think . . . I've been christened."
Belle looked over at him and started snickering. "Oh, Rumple! You forgot to put a cloth on your shoulder."
"I knew I forgot something," he chuckled ruefully. Then he glanced at his shoulder which was now covered with baby spit. He snapped his fingers, and the mess was gone. Then he lifted his son and kissed the tip of his little nose. "You're lucky your papa loves you, little sprout."
Dylan gurgled and his little hand reached out and grabbed Rumple's nose, his green eyes glimmering with mischief, just like a certain imp's long ago.
Page~*~*~*~*~Break
The next day:
By the next morning the plows were out and had cleared the roads and driveways enough so Emma and the Charmings could come and visit. Emma arrived first in the yellow Bug, and was immediately dragged upstairs by her son and husband to see the new arrivals.
"Mom, I got to wipe them off and dress them to keep them warm after they got born!" Henry told her excitedly. "And they like can fit in my hand and everything. Oh, and Daria's got pointed ears like Legolas in Lord of the Rings!"
Emma blinked. "You mean she's a little elf baby?"
"Both of them are unusual, Emma," Bae said as they climbed the stairs. "Dylan's got green eyes and all the plants are like Miracle-Gro around him, and I delivered them."
"I know. You told me about ten times, hon," Emma laughed at how totally puffed up Bae was about that. Like he'd won a tournament or something.
"Dad, Grandpa helped," Henry reminded him.
"Uh, well, yeah . . ."
Emma pushed open the door to the bedroom with a hip, and said, "Okay, let's see these new babies."
Belle looked up from where she was rocking Dylan, and smiled. "Emma! Say hello to your new brother-in-law, Dylan Pearce."
"And your sister-in-law, Daria Rhea," Rumple said, he was holding Daria on his shoulder, which was swathed with white cloths and patting her bottom lightly.
Emma got misty eyed when she looked at the newborns. "Aww! They're just adorable!" She came over by Rumple and peered at Daria, seeing the slightly pointed ears. "Wow! She really does have pointed ears!"
"She does, dearie. Like a little cat's," Rumple said proudly, and then he asked, "Would you like to hold her?"
Emma hesitated. "Uh . . . it's been so long . . . I don't know . . ."
"It's okay. Just hold out your arms like this," Rumple instructed.
"Umm . . . Rumple, I don't want to drop her . . ." Emma said uneasily.
"Relax, Emma! Now hold out your arms like you're cuddling a kitten," Rumple said, waiting until the savior of Storybrooke had done as he'd said before rising to place his baby in her arms. "Now you put this hand right here, under her bottom . . . Good! And her head rests in the crook of your arm, like that. See, nothing to it. You're holding her."
Emma stared down at the baby, who looked at her with puzzled blue eyes. "Hey, kid. I'm Emma, your big sister. Wow, I've got lots of sisters and a brother too all of a sudden." She smiled tentatively at Daria. "Bae, look! I'm holding her. Boy, is she tiny! She doesn't weigh any more than a . . . err . . . peanut or something."
"I know. I held her first," Bae said proudly. "And Dylan too. Right, baby brother?" He tickled Dylan under the chin, making the baby giggle. "Yeah, you're gonna be a real lady killer when you're bigger, aren't you? And I'm gonna teach you how to fight and how to get around Papa's rules and everything."
Rumple cast his eyes heavenward. "Uh huh. Baelfire, you were never able to get around my rules when you were a kid and you're going to teach him?"
"So? I'm older and wiser now," Bae said.
"Or having delusions of grandeur," snorted his father. "I knew what you were up to the minute you walked out the door half the time."
"Or you liked to make me think you did," Bae retorted. "You didn't have magic back then!"
"I didn't need magic to figure out that when you came home covered in mud with prickers in your clothes that you were playing down by the creek when I told you not to. All I had to do was use the eyes and brains I was born with!" Rumple commented. "Honestly, your father was never as stupid as you thought, Baelfire!"
"Hey, I never said you were stupid," Bae objected.
"You were implying it," Rumple shook his finger at him.
Before Bae could dig himself any deeper, the front door downstairs banged open and Regina's voice could be heard yelling, "He-e-y, Unca Rumple! I'm here!"
"Uh oh. The queen cometh," snickered Emma.
"She's like her own herald," Bae laughed.
Alina came into the room, yawning sleepily. "Somebody's at the door, Papa."
"That would be Regina, dearie."
"And Snow and David," Belle said, sitting Dylan up slightly so he could see everyone.
"Hello? Rumple? Belle?" called Snow.
"Unca Rumple! We're here!" yodeled Regina.
"Shh! You might wake the babies," Charming tried to shush her.
"Up here, David!" Belle called.
The next thing they heard was Regina climbing the stairs.
She burst into the room like a miniature whirlwind, still wearing her purple coat with its faux fur trim on the hood, and her matching snow boots. Her dark hair was blowing around her pink hat and she looked around at everyone before spotting Dylan in Belle's arms.
"Auntie Belle, can I see the baby? Is it a girl or a boy?" Regina asked excitedly.
Belle shifted so Regina could see Dylan. "Regina, meet your new cousin, Dylan Pearce Gold. Isn't he adorable?"
The little girl peered at the baby in Belle's arms. Then she frowned and blurted, "No, he looks like somebody squished him and spit him out!"
"Regina!" Snow gasped as she entered the room. "That's a mean thing to say! Belle, I'm so sorry!" She came and kissed her "sister" and cooed, "What a sweet little boy you are! No bigger than a minute!"
"Mommy, he looks like a little frog!" Regina objected. Then she spun around and saw Rumple. "Unca Rumple, why's he like that? And where's the other baby?"
"He just got born, dearie. So he's a little . . .smushed right now," Rumple coughed, struggling not to laugh at the child's bluntness. "And your other cousin, Daria Rhea, is being held by Emma."
Regina stood on her tiptoes and said bossily, "Lemme see her, Emma. Maybe she looks normal."
"Hey, kid, be nice!" Emma scolded. "I'll bet you looked even worse when you got born." She cautiously knelt so Regina could see Daria.
"Emma! Her ears are pointy! How come? An' she looks like a raisin! How come?"
"Uh, Rumple?" Emma looked over at him for help.
"Come here, Regina," he beckoned to her from his seat at the foot of the bed.
The little imp came and crawled on his knee. "Unca Rumple, 'splain it to me."
"Okay, dearie. It's hard work getting born, and the baby . . . err . . . gets sort of squished when she comes out of her mama's tummy, so that's why she looks like that. But in a few days her head with get rounder and fuller and she'll look more like your baby doll does. As for her ears, well dearie, she's got fairy magic in her, and I think she can talk to animals like Dr. Dolittle. It's also why Dylan has green eyes. Because he has an affinity for plants. Any more questions?"
"When they gonna get big enough to play with?"
Charming laughed. "Not for a long while yet, Regina. Like a year."
"That long, Daddy?"
"Well, they won't be able to play like you do for that long," Rumple corrected. "But you can play with them, if you're quiet and gentle. Because you don't want to scare them."
"I can do that," Regina stated. "I can be quiet like a teeny weeny mouse!"
"That'll be a trick and a half," Jimmy grinned from the doorway. "You being quiet, Miss Queen Bee."
"Oh, hush you mouth, Jimmy Jones!" Regina ordered, and stuck out her tongue at him.
Henry cracked up at that.
Jimmy promptly made a face back at her. "Frog face."
"Gargoyle head!" Regina rolled her eyes and put her hands in her ears and waved them around.
"Mud puppy!" Jimmy taunted. Then he put his fingers up his nose and made a totally gross face in return at her.
"Gross!" Alina cried, wrinkling her nose at the older boy.
"Eeeww! You is 'sgusting!" Regina squealed, and hid her face in Rumple's shirt.
"Mr. Jones! Are you eighteen or three?" Rumple demanded.
"Knock it off, kid! Because if you scare my baby brother, I'm going to wallop your ass," Bae threatened.
Jimmy quickly stopped making faces and took his fingers out of his nose. "Aww, chill, Bae! You're like a grumpy old man."
"Watch it, kid. Now go wash your hands."
"What are you, my mother?" Jimmy demanded belligerently.
Bae promptly reached out and grabbed him by the ear. "Do it, James. Now!"
Jimmy yelped. "Okay! I'm going!" He rubbed his ear after Bae released it, and stalked into the bathroom, muttering under his breath.
"Jimmy, I heard that!" Rumple called.
"Sorry, Mr. Gold!"
"Smooth move, Baelfire," Charming said, amused.
"Thanks, David," Bae preened.
"Now tell him where you learned that from, son," Rumple invited.
"The Waltons," Bae drawled, then held up a hand. "Just kidding, Papa. I learned it from you. You used to do that every time I backtalked you."
"Then I'm surprised your ear didn't fall off, Gold," teased Emma.
"You're a riot, Em," Bae said. Then he decided to change the subject. "Hey, why don't we go downstairs and get something to eat? And I can tell all of you how Papa and I delivered the babies."
Henry rolled his eyes. "Here he goes again. Maybe he's gonna make a recording and put it on youtube—Baelfire Gold On Delivering Babies."
"Hey, that's a good idea, tiger!"
"Dad! I was kidding!" Henry groaned.
Just then Daria started to wail.
"Uh, help . . . Rumple, she's screaming," Emma cried, looking horrified.
"Bring her to me, Emma," Belle said. "She's probably hungry. It's almost feeding time for them."
Emma happily gave a crying Daria back to her mother, and then everyone decided to leave the room to give Belle some privacy. Except Rumple, who gently set Regina down and said, "Go downstairs, dearie, and eat some chocolate chips I've baked."
"Mmm! I love them!" Regina hooted, and darted out the door.
"Here, dearie. Let me have Dylan while you feed Miss Howling Beauty over there," Rumple said, and took his son so Belle could feed Daria.
Ten minutes later, he had tucked a blanket over both his children and also his wife, kissed them all, and went downstairs to rejoin the rest of his family.
They were all congregating in the kitchen, eating soup and sandwiches and listening while Bae described some of the more explicit details of childbirth. David looked like he was about to start throwing up, and even Snow looked pale as her name. Jimmy too looked a bit off color.
Henry and Alina, who had heard this rendition ten times before, were playing a card game at the other end of the table while Regina was watching.
" . . . and there was so much blood and fluid I was almost afraid she was bleeding inside or something," Bae told his in-laws, calmly munching on a hoagie. "But then I was like, okay, you gotta remain calm, because otherwise Papa's going to freak out . . ."
"Excuse me? I was freaking out?" Rumple said, coming into the kitchen. "I beg to differ. I was holding my wife and you were the one asking me what in hell that wriggly purple and blue thing was coming out with the baby."
"Purple and blue thing?" David repeated.
"Rumple, are you talking about the umbilical cord?" asked Snow. "Was it pulsing and rubbery?"
"Mom, TMI!" Emma groaned. "You're as bad as Bae!"
"Yeah, it was like that, Snow," Bae nodded.
"And I had to tell you not to panic, that it was fine, and to watch it didn't get wrapped around Daria's neck or else she'd strangle," Rumple put it, getting out some bread and cold chicken cutlets from the fridge.
"How'd you know that?" David wanted to know.
"Dr. Jo told me before, when we were driving back to the house after getting stuck," Rumple answered.
"I don't get it. Why was there some cord inside Mrs. Gold?" Jimmy asked, puzzled.
"It's not like on a ship, little brother," Bae said, amused. "And the umbilical cord's there so the baby can get food from the mom when its inside her. It's kind of like a straw. A really long one."
"A straw? Eeeww, Baelfire!" Emma grimaced.
"What? How else am I gonna explain it?" her husband protested. "And if you think that looked gross, you should have seen the afterbirth, Jimmy."
"What's an afterbirth, Mr. Gold?"
Rumple told him, "It's a . . . product of conception, Jimmy. It's how the babies get all their nutrients when they're inside their mama's womb. And it gets delivered after the babies, hence the name. It also looks like raw liver."
"Oh. I'm sorry I asked," Jimmy looked rather green.
"I think I'm gonna hurl," David muttered.
"Wuss!" Bae smirked.
Emma elbowed him in the ribs. "Be nice, Baelfire!"
"What? It's like the facts of life, Em. And you grew up on a farm, David," Bae pointed out. "Didn't you ever see lambs get born?"
"Yeah, but . . . the ewe did most of the work and . . . err . . . I never noticed what happened with that afterbirth thing."
"She probably ate it, dearie," Rumple put in.
"Rumple, she's a sheep! They're vegetarians!" Snow objected.
"Dearie, that's nature. And if she didn't, she'd be leaving blood trail for predators," answered the sorcerer.
"Now I"M gonna hurl!" Jimmy groaned. "How revolting!"
"All right, can we PLEASE quit talking about this subject?" Emma groaned. "I don't even want to think about it right now."
"Don't worry, wild swan. I've got everything under control. When your time comes, I'll make sure I've got your room all fixed up and everything." Bae soothed.
"My ROOM?" Emma gaped at him. "Bae, what are you smoking? Hell, no, you're not going to deliver the baby at home! I want a hospital room, Gold, and a trained medical professional and an epidural! What do you think this is-Male Midwives of Maine reality show?"
"But, hon, it's not really that bad," Bae began. "I've already delivered two of them so I'm like an expert now—"
"Baelfire Gold, you're crazy! The only reason poor Belle delivered them at home was because she had no other choice!" Emma pointed out. "And you were damned lucky nothing went wrong. You're not a midwife, you're a martial arts instructor, for God's sake! You knock people out, you don't do surgery on them."
"I only knock people out when they deserve it," her husband objected. "And I think it'd be really cool to get to deliver my own baby, we could bond—"
"No, Baelfire! You can bond all you like in the hospital nursery and watch the doctor who knows what she's doing deliver and maybe you can give her tips on how it's done," Emma said firmly. "But if you think I'm having this baby at home so you can play Dr. Gold Medicine Man, you're cracked!"
"Emma, don't you trust me?"
"Yes, dear. I trust you to drive me to the hospital when I say it's time," she said, and grinned at him.
"Okay, wild swan," Bae sighed, surrendering gracefully to his loving spouse.
"And I'm having the car get tuned up and the tires checked a week before I'm due and thank God it's in the spring so there won't be any snowstorms," Emma said in relief.
Just then Regina piped up with, "Daddy, when are we having a baby?"
Charming blinked, then looked at his daughter. "What do you mean, Regina?"
"I mean, when's you and Mommy having a baby? I want a baby brother like Dylan."
"Uhh . . . er . . ." he glanced helplessly at Snow.
"Sweetie, Mommy and Daddy aren't . . . ready yet to have another baby," Snow coughed, while the other adults started smirking and Jimmy was laughing into his napkin. "I mean, we have you and Princess to take care of, and a new baby . . . well, it can wait."
Regina looked upset. "No, it can't, Mommy! Your biological clock's ticking! I heard Ruby say so."
At that point, Emma, Bae, and Rumple all started laughing hysterically, as Snow turned beet red and David groaned.
"I don't believe this! Regina, you shouldn't repeat everything you hear."
Jimmy was puzzled. "Huh? What's a biological clock?"
That made Rumple start laughing even harder.
"Tell you later, little brother," Bae gasped. "Once I . . . catch my breath!"
At the other end of the table, Henry exchanged glances with Alina. "See, I told you this family's crazy!"
A/N: Thanks everyone for all your support and so glad you like this story!
