7

Family Affairs

The sound of a baby crying echoed through Gold's Victorian, as Rumple quickly shook a bottle of milk and tested some on his wrist before feeding his hungry son, who was wrapped in the Snuggli against him. His sister was in the small bouncy chair on the kitchen table, playing with her foot. Alina was in school, and Belle had gone shopping with Alice for some groceries, so it was just Rumple and Jimmy with the twins that morning.

Jimmy had finished his collage last night, but had asked Belle to please get him a frame for it and was planning on giving it to them that night. He was currently outside shoveling the walk, as it had snowed again a day ago.

"All right, don't be in such a rush, dearie," crooned the pawnbroker as he fed Dylan his bottle.

His green-eyed son was more active now and seemed to be growing bigger everyday, just like his twin. He greedily drank, while Rumple rocked the little seat with Daria in it, and drank his coffee.

Things were still hectic around the house, as they were still trying to get the babies on a regular schedule, but Rumple didn't mind. It was a good kind of craziness. He gently removed the nipple from his son's mouth, and the baby fussed. "Hey, now you quit complaining, little Green Man," Rumple cooed as he put the baby on his shoulder. "You need to burp, Dylan."

As he began patting and rubbing his son's back, Jimmy came in the door and kicked off his boots, then removed his coat and hat and hung them in the closet, wincing as he did so.

"Uh, Mr. Gold? There's some lady here to see you . . . she says she's a nun," Jimmy told him, padding into the kitchen in his socks, one hand on his lower back.

Rumple scowled. "The Blue Fairy's here? Damned interfering bug!" Then he noticed the way the younger man was walking. "What happened? You pull something?"

"Umm . . . I slipped and fell," the teenager admitted. "Landed right on my ass. I'll live."

Gold frowned. "Hang on a minute and I'll take a look." Just then his son burped. "Good job, Dylan." He gently tucked the baby back into the Snuggli and then said to Jimmy, "Turn around so I can see what you've done to yourself."

"Mr. Gold . . . no, I'm fine . . . I . . ." the boy sighed and at a Look obeyed. "Really, it doesn't even hurt—oww!" he yelped as Rumple pressed gently on his tailbone.

"Hmm . . . you've probably bruised your tailbone—" Gold began.

"What are you doing, torturing that boy, Gold?" demanded Blue icily as she stalked into the house.

The babies started to cry then.

"Blue. I don't recall telling you to come in," Gold said coldly.

"Your hospitality is lacking," she snorted. "Now what are you doing to the boy?"

"Hey, lady. Chill out, he's helping me," Jimmy said, eyeing the tall woman with dislike. He straightened up as much as he could.

"You don't need his sort of help," the Blue Fairy sneered. "It always comes with a price."

Jimmy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, nothing's for free. Besides, who asked you?"

Blue's eyes narrowed. "You ill-mannered whelp! Then again, you keep company with the Dark One, so I shouldn't expect anything more."

"Lady, you need to get off your high horse and unbutton your habit, before you strangle from denial. Maybe if you quit being such a—" Jimmy began.

"Jimmy!" Rumple interrupted whatever impertinent comment the pirate would have made. "Go and take a hot bath. That'll help. I'll handle her."

Jimmy hesitated. "You sure?"

"Perfectly. Go," he waved at the boy.

Jimmy went, but not before he sneered at Blue and muttered, "Tight ass cleric!"

"Who's that? Your newest apprentice?" Blue snapped.

"His name is Jimmy Jones, and he's Bae's half-brother," answered Rumple. "And therefore family. Why are you here, Blue? I didn't invite you." He rocked his son and then gave him the rest of the bottle. "If you've come to congratulate me, do it and leave, because I'm too busy for small talk, dearie."

She eyed him with dislike. "I've come to see the children." She peered at Dylan, her eyes sharpening. "He bears some of our powers." Then she looked over at Daria, who screwed up her small face and screamed at the fairy. "But she has more. She'll need to be trained by me when she's of age, lest dark forces taint her."

"Over my dead body will you teach any child of mine!" spat Rumple, his eyes glittering with a savage protectiveness. "I won't have you twisting her with your honeyed poison, making her hate me, because you're convinced I'm still a dark sorcerer. Now get out! You're scaring my children and you're unwanted and unwelcome here!"

Daria's howls brought Freya and Nala in to investigate. Nala jumped onto the table and stalked towards the invading fairy, her fur on end and her tail fluffed, ears flat against her head, and growling like a tigress.

Freya raced up and jumped right on the Blue Fairy, barking and growling shrilly.

"Ahh! Get away from me!" Blue yelped. "Call off your familiars, Gold!"

Rumple was smirking. "Why? Can't you talk to them yourself?"

"They're not . . . listening to me!" Blue snapped, as Nala hissed at her and glared at her through narrowed eyes.

Freya promptly nipped her ankles, causing the normally sedate nun to shriek like a child getting paddled, and run towards the door, the collie herding her on her way with sharp nips and barks.

"Just you wait, Rumplestiltskin!" Blue howled. "You're going to rue the day! Oww! Wretched beast, I'm not a sheep! Leave off!"

"Not likely, dearie!" Rumple chortled.

Suddenly she vanished, transforming into her fairy self, and flew out the door of the Victorian like her wings were on fire.

"Freya, come!" he whistled the collie to him and waved a hand so the door shut.

The puppy trotted over to him, and was rewarded with a meaty bone and her ears scratched, while Nala got some sardines in a plate and her chin rubbed after he finished petting the collie. "That's my good girls! Send that nasty blue bug running for the hills. I've got to alter the protection spell over the house, to not admit her or anyone she's sent, just in case. And here's one for you two, in case she tries anything."

He waved his hand and a shiny spinning wheel tag appeared on Freya's pink collar and a spinning wheel button on Nala's green one.

Then he finished feeding Dylan, while gently singing to calm Daria down, who also had Nala purring in her ear next to her. Once his son was drowsing in the Snuggli, he picked up Daria to cuddle against his shoulder, murmuring, "It's okay, babydoll, Papa's got you. No one's going to hurt you or take you anywhere."

Gradually, his daughter stopped wailing as the frightening feeling left her, and her father's voice and hands soothed her so she dozed against him.

He summoned the bassinet and put it in the kitchen so he could keep an eye on the two while they slept, he wanted them close by, but he also needed to cook something to eat for breakfast.

He had just finished making scrambled eggs with onions, sausage, and peppers mixed in it when Jimmy came down again.

"That smells great!" he said, sniffing the air appreciatively. "What is it?"

"Just a sausage scramble," Gold replied, putting it into a serving bowl and floating it to the table, along with some English muffins spread with butter. "How are you feeling now? A little better?"

"Yeah. Though I think I'm gonna need a pillow or something," sighed the pirate.

"Come over here. I can heal you," Rumple beckoned to him.

"No, it's okay," Jimmy said, alarmed.

Gold frowned at him. "Why are you so skittish? It won't hurt."

The boy looked skeptical. "It won't? But . . . every other time some magician healed me it hurt like hell."

"Did it? And what kind of magicians were they?"

"Uh . . . island priestesses mostly. They trafficked with the old gods, the dark ones," he admitted.

"And those gods demanded pain for their aid and their power," Rumple told him. "That's why it hurt. But this won't. Magic's price is mine to pay, not yours."

"Will it hurt you?"

"No. It'll just make me a bit tired. Come here."

Jimmy reluctantly came beside him. "Mr. Gold, you don't have to—"

"Hush, boy. Why be in pain when you don't have to be?" he scolded mildly. He placed his hand gently on the teen's lower back. "Just relax." Then he sent a gentle pulse of healing energy into the boy, mending the injury. "There! All done! Want a lollipop?"

Jimmy smirked. "Funny, Mr. Gold. Hey, it doesn't hurt at all. Thanks!"

"Not a problem, now go and eat before it gets cold," Gold urged, setting the dishes in the sink to soak.

As they ate breakfast, Jimmy said quietly, "Who was that tightass bitch anyway?" Then he nearly choked on a piece of English muffin when he realized what he'd said.

Gold swatted him on the back, then said, "Language," in mild reproof before sitting back down. "And that was the Blue Fairy, who was always a judgmental hypocrite, as well as what you just said." While he finished his own breakfast, he explained to Jimmy about the history between himself, Bae, and Blue.

By the time they'd finished breakfast, Belle and Alice were back from the store. Belle was ready to spit when she heard about Blue's sudden visit. "She's lucky I wasn't here, Rumple!" she declared, her blue eyes flashing. "Because I'd have helped her right out the door, the harpy, with my boot up her ass!"

"Amen, sister! And I've got a flyswatter in my glove compartment," Alice added, putting away some vegetables in the fridge.

Jimmy started laughing. "That'd be something to see! I'd have had to take pictures." He glanced questioningly at Alice, who nodded and pointed to a bag next to the groceries.

Jimmy took the bag and went upstairs with it, and Alice, Belle, and Rumple finished putting away all the groceries while the twins slept in the bassinet.

No sooner did that get completed then there came a knock on the door, and then it opened to reveal Regina and David.

"What's this, Visit the Golds Day?" joked Alice as the little girl ran into the house.

"Unca Rumple, Auntie Belle, guess what?" she half-yelled.

"Shh! The babies are sleeping, minx!" Rumple shushed her.

"Okay!" she whispered back, grabbing his leg. "But guess what?"

"What, Little Big Mouth?"

"Mommy's having a baby!"

"David, Snow's pregnant?" Rumple asked, startled.

"Yeah, she found out two days ago," answered David happily. "It's kind of unexpected but . . . who cares?"

"Congratulations, sugar!" Alice grinned. "You're gonna need to open a daycare before long!"

"If we do, you can run it," Belle teased.

"Haha. No thanks! You think I'm crazy?" her friend chuckled.

"Unca Rumple, I wished for this to happen, and Daria and Dylan helped me," Regina put in.

"Rumple, she keeps saying that," Charming said. "I've told her that's not possible, your kids are too young for their powers to manifest like that—"

"Daddy, no they're not! They's got fairy powers so they can grant wishes!"

"Regina—"

"Hold on, David. She may have something there. My compendium states that those with fairy blood or traits in them can use their powers as easily as breathing," Rumple explained. "And we saw evidence of that when they were born. Flowers burst into bloom when Dylan was born and they still do around him, and my pets talk to Daria, they're always around her."

"And then there was the incident yesterday," Belle reminded him. "When a bone for Freya and a toy mouse for Nala just appeared out of nowhere in the bedroom while we were feeding the twins."

"Yes. Scared the hell out of me at first, until I realized the babies could have summoned them or something like it."

"But Rumple, I thought you had to be able to . . . err . . . focus and stuff to do magic!" Charming cried.

"You do . . . if we're talking about conventional magic. But fairy magic is different. Fairy magic reacts to the deepest desires of your heart, and that's why most fairies interact with children, because those pure in heart will evoke a natural response with wishing magic. So while my children are too little to consciously use their powers, the magic in them responded to Regina, and there you are."

David gaped at the twins. "Hell, I'd better watch what I think around them!"

"Me too!" Jimmy cried.

Rumple chuckled. "It doesn't work like that. You have to really want something and it probably doesn't work all the time either. Even so, I think I'm going to see about making a few magical bracelets to contain their wish power until they're old enough to handle it."

He hugged Regina. "So now you're going to be a big sister, huh?"

"Yup. I am! And I'm gonna teach the baby everything I know!"

"Oh God!" Alice cracked up.

David groaned. "I'm moving to a deserted island!"

Regina scowled. "Daddy! You ain't allowed to move to a dessert island! Mommy's gonna need help with the baby, so's you can't just sit there and eat ice cream all day."

Everyone started laughing at that statement, and Rumple said, "The queen has spoken, Charming!" before he tweaked his niece's nose.

Page~*~*~*~*~Break

Later on that night, while the family was relaxing in the den, reading and playing Words With Friends, in Alina's case, Jimmy slipped upstairs and brought down the framed collage.

"Umm . . . Mr. Gold? Here. It's a . . . baby gift." He handed the wrapped collage to Rumple.

"Jimmy, you didn't have to get anything," Rumple began, and then unwrapped the package while Belle rocked the twins. His eyes widened when he saw what was inside. "Jimmy, did you make this?"

"Yeah, from pictures I took with my camera," the pirate murmured. "It's not very good . . ."

"On the contrary," Rumple disagreed. "Look, Belle! It's our whole family!"

He showed her the collage, which had as its central theme the twins with Belle and Rumple holding them, and the rest of the family in various candid shots around them, including Nala, Freya, and Princess. Beneath the pictures, in gold lettering were the words, Gold Family Portrait and in smaller letters, created by James Jones.

"Wow, Jimmy! It's awesome!" Alina said, peering at it. Then she went to Im Henry about it.

"Jimmy, it's beautiful!" Belle cried. "Rumple, let's put it on the wall in the foyer. There's a space right there where it can go."

"You're right. But first I think I need to add something," Rumple said.

"Add something, sir? Did I forget someone?" Jimmy asked sheepishly.

"Yes." He waved a hand and a picture appeared next to the one of the twins and himself and Belle. "Yourself. You're a part of this family too."

He showed Jimmy the now completed collage.

The boy blushed. "Uh . . . thanks . . .Uncle Rumple."

"No, thank you, son. Now go and put it where it belongs," Rumple said and handed it back to the boy.

Jimmy carried it over to where there was a hook on the wall of the foyer, right across from the door, and hung the collage there, where everyone who came to visit would see it.

The former pirate stepped back and admired it for a moment, thinking I'll need to add two new babies when they're born, but for now their—my-family is complete.

He made his way back into the den, just in time for Belle to hand him Dylan, and say, "I believe it's your turn to rock the baby, Jimmy."

"Sure, Aunt Belle," he smiled, and then laughed when Dylan grabbed his nose.

Rumple smiled as he looked at his family, which was growing by leaps and bounds, and thought for once things were close to perfect. Though it was anyone's guess how long it would last.