Chapter 29

When the morning comes, Rapunzel is still asleep.

After the longest night Eugene has ever experienced, the sun has finally risen. Rays of light now illuminate the once-dark bedroom, shining through the open shutters of the single window.

Eugene is sitting on the far end of the room. He's leaning back in a chair with his feet up on the desk, ankles crossed. His elbow is propped up on the surface, with his forehead resting heavily in his hand. His body is angled toward the bed opposite him, where Rapunzel lays curled up on her side.

He may have dozed off at one point or another, he isn't sure anymore. The entire night felt like a blur. He'd been restless for most of it. He'd only started to get tired a couple hours ago, and has been drifting in and out of consciousness since then.

The lab fell silent at one point in the early morning. Varian and Lance had disappeared hours ago. They must have fallen asleep somewhere.

But Eugene hasn't left this room. Not with Rapunzel still here.

His head is heavy. His eyes are begging to close as he sits there in silence, doing nothing but waiting. His mind is blank. Nothing can be heard but the faint tweeting of birds outside, just on the other side of the window.

But Eugene is so focused on not falling asleep that he almost doesn't hear Rapunzel's small voice in the room.

"Eugene?"

With eyes half-lidded, he lifts his head out of his hand. It had been silent for so long that he wonders whether he'd imagined it.

When he looks over at the bed, Rapunzel is in the process of sitting up, fully awake, and peering over at him in confusion.

Eugene bolts out of the chair faster than he'd meant to. "Rapunzel?" He'd been sitting for so long that he briefly stumbles as he rushes across the room, limbs numb. But all he's focused on is her.

At the same time, she rises from the bed with a similar sense of urgency, her eyes locked on him, but they stop themselves - like they want to run to each other, but they're both afraid. Instead, they slowly step toward each other all while wondering whether they are both dreaming.

Eugene wants to reach out and touch her, but he stops a safe distance away, out of fear of her reacting the same way she had before.

Instead, he lets Rapunzel approach him like a timid animal, eyes curious yet fearful.

She slowly reaches her hand out, touching her fingertips to his face. Her other arm comes up too, both of her palms resting on either of his cheeks, as if she can't believe what she's seeing.

Her voice is just above a whisper, "Are you real?"

Their faces are inches away now. It causes Eugene's stomach to flutter, just being so close to her. As if they have never been before.

"Yes," he breathes, nervously. "Rapunzel, it's me."

Her gaze is desperately scanning his face, and everything that is so familiar to her – his nose, his chin, his eyes, just searching for a reason to believe that he is truly there in front of her.

It makes Eugene's heart race, fearful that she may not remember. A part of him still expects her to lash out, to scream again, or to push him away, but after a moment, Rapunzel's eyes light up in realization, and a beaming smile forms on her lips.

"Eugene!" Rapunzel throws herself against him, instantly wrapping her arms around his neck.

She hugs him so forcefully that Eugene almost stumbles back, but he wraps his arms around her just as tightly.

Rapunzel's feet leave the ground as he leans back. She lets out a relieved sob, muffled against his shoulder.

Eugene almost doesn't believe it, because finally, he finds himself able to breathe again – like an enormous weight has just been lifted off his shoulders.

He'd almost forgotten what it felt like to hear her voice saying his name again, to hold her in his arms, to be so close to her that he can smell her hair, and feel it tickling his nose. It makes his eyes water all over again, and suddenly all the days he had spent apart from her are worth it in this moment.

"You remember," he mumbles next to her ear.

After a moment, Rapunzel's feet meet the ground again. She pulls away, but her hands remain cupping his face.

"Of course, I do." As she gazes up at him, she brushes a lock of hair away from his eyes, smiling with admiration. "You found me."

Eugene grins, remembering the day they had been separated, all that time ago. "I told you I would."

Rapunzel's eyes begin to glisten at that. Her face scrunches up as she fails to will it away.

She springs up on her toes, and ardently presses her lips against his before the tears are able to fall.

"I remember a house… and a fire," Rapunzel recalls, thinking hard.

She's sitting up on the bed now, near the headboard. Her legs are crossed beneath her, bare feet tangled between the sheets.

Eugene sits on the edge of the mattress next to her, remaining close.

"I—I was on a boat," she continues, struggling to piece it all together.

She still hears the waves crashing against the hull and feels the deck rocking beneath her feet. She feels the heat of the flames, and the smoke in her lungs. The memories are scrambled in her mind, flashes of images appearing to her out of order.

"I was looking for you, after we got separated. Then… I met this man. He told me he knew where you were. He—"

"I know," says Eugene.

Rapunzel stops, peering up at him in confusion. "You do?"

She notices the distant look in his eyes, and the way his shoulders seem to fall so glumly.

Eugene shrugs, figuring that would be a lot to explain right now, "A lot has happened. Since that day."

A sense of panic nestles in Rapunzel's chest as she suddenly remembers Donovan's face. She sees the cellar in her mind, and a syringe with a golden liquid. "Where is he?" She peers around the room, as if expecting him to be here. "He's gonna come back for me. He wants to hurt you, he's gonna—"

"He's gone, Rapunzel," Eugene reaches for her hands, holding them in her lap. "He's not coming back, okay? I promise."

"How do you know?" she asks.

He thinks of Cassandra, and the last time he'd seen her, along with Donovan. Eugene doesn't know for sure, but he convinces himself they have nothing to worry about.

"Because… I won't let him," he assures. "You're safe now. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you." He glances down at her stomach, thinking of the baby. Though he stops himself from mentioning it.

Rapunzel doesn't notice.

It isn't then that she observes the room around them. The walls and the furniture appear familiar to her, though she doesn't have a clue how she got here. "Where are we?"

"At… a friend's," Eugene explains. "Varian. He stayed up all night trying to make you better. I don't know where we would be if it weren't for him."

As Eugene holds onto Rapunzel's hands, her thumb absentmindedly brushes against his bandages. She looks down at them in her lap, noticing them for the first time. "Your hands," she touches them gently, her eyes brimming with concern, "What happened?"

Eugene peers down at them. He'd forgotten about them until now. "It's… I'm fine. I just—got into a little trouble, that's all," he shrugs it off, figuring she doesn't need to know about that. At least not right now. "Typical for me, I know," he chuckles softly.

Rapunzel shoots him an unconvinced look – with her eyes squinted, and her lips pressed together. It's a look that Eugene has seen before, one that says she knows he's not telling her something. She thinks 'trouble' may mean he had another run in with the guards, but he doesn't give her a chance to ask.

"Just… don't worry about any of that right now, okay?" Eugene shifts back on the mattress to tug the blanket up over her lap. "You're sick. You need to rest."

"Sick?" she ponders that word, and what he may mean by it.

Eugene thinks of what Varian had told him last night. "The potion you drank, the one that erased your memories. It had some… side effects," he explains, "Varian said it didn't react well with your—"

A silence falls between them as Eugene finds his next words caught in his throat.

Rapunzel observes him closely, waiting for him to continue. "With my… what?"

Eugene shakes his head, his gaze falling down instead of up. "Nothing."

He isn't sure now is the best time to tell her of the pregnancy. She's only just woken up. It might stress her out too much, on top of everything else. She doesn't need that right now.

"Eugene…"

"I know this is a lot for you," he tells her. "I know you've been… confused. And scared. And—"

"Eugene," she interrupts.

He's hardly answered any of her questions since she woke up. But she knows that look on his face. She knows him better than anyone. There is something he isn't telling her.

Rapunzel leans toward him, her voice gentle as she asks, "What happened?"

Eugene raises his chin then, meeting eyes with her at last.

As he only watches her staring back at him, with the kindest, most innocent green eyes, he finds himself exhaling in defeat.

They both know he can't lie to her. Having lost her memories, she's been left in the dark for so long. It wouldn't be fair to keep things that way, not after she just got them back.

"Okay, you're right," he begins. "I haven't been entirely honest with you. But… you deserve to know what's been going on."

He briefly adjusts the way he is sitting, prolonging what he's about to say.

Rapunzel watches him expectantly.

He isn't sure whether this is a good idea. She's probably overwhelmed enough as it is. He isn't even sure how to say it, but he forces himself to continue.

Eugene inhales deeply, before locking eyes with her, "You're pregnant..."

Rapunzel only stares back at him in silence, her expression blank.

"Varian did some tests on you when you were unconscious. I don't know how much you remember…"

"I already know," she says, almost emotionlessly.

Eugene blinks. "You do?"

Rapunzel nods silently, her eyebrows pressed together painfully.

Donovan had told her on the ship. She remembers him touching his hand to her stomach, telling her that they were going to raise their child together, after they were married.

Rapunzel wasn't sure it was true. A part of her thought he had been lying. She wanted him to be, because even though she couldn't explain why at the time, the thought of him being the father of her child unsettled her somehow.

It isn't until now that she truly realizes the baby hadn't been Donovan's at all – but Eugene's. He knew that, but he had lied to her, just like he had about everything else.

And if Eugene hadn't found her in time, if she had never gained her memories back, she would've been living in that lie without even knowing it, forever.

Rapunzel had almost forgotten than any of that even happened. It was all such a blur. It feels like only a dream.

But now she knows the truth. Rapunzel can't explain how much of a relief that is.

Yet as she thinks about it, she finds herself only wanting to cry as the reality of the situation hits her all at once.

She lowers her chin, staring down into her lap. A lump forms in her throat. Her face crumples as the tears suddenly well in her eyes.

When she speaks again, her voice is broken, and a heartbreaking sob escapes her lips, "I'm sorry."

"What? What are you sorry for?" Eugene leans closer to her, tightening his hands around her own. His eyes widen with concern, just seeing her look so sad.

"I know we've never even talked about it before," she begins to sob, "But I know that settling down isn't the life that you wanted so I feel like me being pregnant just doesn't fit into that and now it's all my fault that I'm ruining it for you—"

"Whoa, hey, why—why would you think I wouldn't want this?"

Rapunzel sniffles, wiping her teary face with her palm. "Because you've always loved being alone. And we've just been on the run for so long and… you always said it would be just you and me."

"And it will be. But that doesn't mean that I don't want a child too," Eugene dips his head down in front of her face, trying to get her to look up at him. She doesn't. "Rapunzel, this is not your fault. You're not ruining anything."

"But… we don't have any money," she weeps, panicking all over again, "And I can't have this baby when we don't even know where we're gonna sleep every night—"

"Sweetheart, listen to me," Eugene grabs her face in his hands. "Look at me."

Rapunzel stops herself then, taking a deep, quivering breath.

She peers into his eyes just inches away from hers, her fluttering eyelashes wet with tears. Her freckled cheeks have turned red, nose sniffling.

"Everything is going to be fine," he assures her, sternly. "You don't have to go through it alone. I'm gonna be right next to you the entire way, all right? Don't worry about the money or being on the run or anything, okay, we're gonna figure it out."

It breaks Eugene's heart knowing that Rapunzel had thought he wouldn't want kids with her. He never meant to make her feel that way, because it isn't true. It never was.

His voice softens, "I want to have a baby with you. More than anything. Rapunzel, as long as I'm with you, and you're happy, that's all that matters."

She smiles faintly, brokenly. Her heart soars just from hearing him say that.

But Rapunzel does want a baby, even though she has no idea how they are going to make it work, living on the road. Even though she never imagined it would happen so soon. Even though the thought of being pregnant terrifies her, she wants this with him more than anything.

"I know you're scared…" says Eugene, "But we'll figure it out. Together. Just like we always do."

A faint whimper emits from her throat. "You promise?"

Eugene grins, brushing one of her tears away with his thumb. "I promise."

Somehow, just hearing those words from him is enough.

Rapunzel sniffles again, her lips tugging into a grin. Maybe it's because she hasn't seen him in so long, or because of everything he had just said, but as Rapunzel stares into his eyes, she feels as if she has fallen in love with him all over again.

"I love you," he murmurs. With his hands holding her face, he tilts her head down to plant a soft kiss on her forehead.

Rapunzel's hand comes up to touch his own, resting against her cheek. She closes her eyes, smiling contentedly.

At that moment, there's a loud shuffle on the other side of the bedroom door, followed by muffled voices. It bursts open suddenly, with two figures stumbling into the room and immediately falling to the ground.

Rapunzel and Eugene whip their heads toward the commotion, finding Varian and Lance now toppled on top of each other in the middle of the floor.

"Okay… you're crushing me," Varian groans painfully from beneath Lance, who's burly figure is now laying on top of him and practically swallowing him whole.

"Oh!" Lance jumps away in surprise, "Sorry, little man."

As Varian slowly pushes himself up, his face instantly lights up when he lays eyes on Rapunzel. "Look—she's awake!" He springs upright, throwing his hands in the air excitedly.

Lance also rises to his feet, pointing a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the now wide-open door. "Oh, that?" he says, noticing Rapunzel and Eugene's very confused and startled expressions. "We didn't wanna ruin a tender moment, you know what I'm sayin'?"

Though, apparently it's already too late for that.

They'd been pressing their ears against the door just moments before, only to lean too far into it and cause it to swing open unexpectedly.

"Rapunzel's awake! thank goodness it worked!" Varian continues to celebrate, "I mean… not that I ever doubted it would." He clears his throat, scratching the back of his neck.

Eugene chuckles softly, peering over at Rapunzel sitting next to him. "Rapunzel… This is Varian." He gestures to the boy now standing awkwardly in front of them.

"Uh, hi," Varian raises a hand. "I mean, I've kind of already met you but it's nice to meet you officially. And not, you know… memory wiped."

"It's… nice to meet you too," Rapunzel smiles amusedly, still a little taken aback by what just happened.

Lance appears next to Varian, peering down at her. "It's good to have you back, girl. You know…" he claps a hand on Eugene's shoulder, "Mostly for this guy's sake."

"Lance!" she beams, springing to her feet. "You're here," she rises on her toes to pull him into an embrace.

Eugene rises off the bed too, the four of them assembling in the middle of the room.

Lance wraps his burly arms around Rapunzel's tiny frame, "Wouldn't miss it for the world." When they pull apart, one of his hands lingers on her shoulder. He observes her for a moment before he sighs tiredly, shaking his head, "We've got a lot to catch you up on."

Rapunzel chuckles softly, assuming that would be the case. She can't wait to hear all about it.

They all turn their heads at the sound of someone clearing their throat behind them.

When they do, they find Cassandra casually leaning her shoulder against the doorframe, with her arms folded against her chest, and her ankles crossed beneath her.

Instead of her usual guards' uniform, she's now dressed in a forest green jacket and black cloak, with her sword holstered across her back.

A few moments pass where everyone only gapes at her in surprise, none of them expecting to find her standing there in the doorway.

Rapunzel steps toward her, eyes wide and lips parted, "Cass?"

Cassandra merely raises an eyebrow, smirking slyly, "What? You didn't think I'd miss out on all the fun, did you?"