Ahoy! I am glad some of y'all liked the first chapter! Thank you so much for reading!

Now on with the next chapter. This will pick up where the last chapter left off, specifically with the Rumple/Belle/Bae drama. So I really hope y'all enjoy it! And please leave a review!

Also I've decided to start naming chapters. So, I hope y'all like that.

Disclaimer: I still don't own any of this.

Chapter 2 What We All Deserve

"Papa?" Bae asked surprised. "Papa! Is this really you?"

"Bae," Rumple said in shock as he pulled his son in close for a hug. He felt tears sting his eyes. "Oh, Bae. I missed you."

They separated as the wailing of ambulance sirens grew closer. The ambulance came and one paramedic rushed to Rumple, while one other went to Belle in the car.

"Sir, are you okay?" the paramedic asked Rumple. "You're bleeding."

"I'm fine!" Rumple yelled. "Help her! Save Belle!"

Rumple rushed back to the car and the paramedic followed.

"Are there any medical conditions we should know about?" the other paramedic asked Rumple as he tried to get Belle safely out of the car.

"No, none at all," Rumple said. "Help her!"

"Sir, you need to back off so we have space to help her," the paramedic said. He called for backup into his radio and turned to the other paramedic. "She's unconscious. We need to stop the bleeding in her head, get her out of the car, and get her to the hospital as soon as we can."

Rumple took a step closer, wanting to hold Belle or get her out, anything to be with her then.

"Sir, you really need to give us space," the paramedic said. "Please. Another ambulance will be here soon to help you with your wound."

"Papa," Bae said, wrapping his arms around his father's shoulders and leading him a few feet away. "Back up. They'll help her, she'll be okay."

Rumple turned towards Bae and wrapped him in a tight hug. The despair and desperation for Belle and the overwhelming joy of seeing of seeing Bae again was too much for Rumple. He sobbed into his son's shoulder.

-OUAT-

Ruby woke up on the floor, still slumped against the door. For a moment she was confused, but suddenly all the memories of last night rushed back in.

"Oh god," she muttered. She got up and rubbed her back, which was sore from the awkward position she slept in. "Sleeping here was not a good idea," she said to herself.

She cautiously walked around the house, as if she thought this was all a bad dream and some terrible monster would jump out at her.

This is a bad dream, she thought. But I'm the monster.

She walked past the kitchen and saw all the food Archie prepared for her the night before. It was all out on the counter, but last night she was too preoccupied to notice it. She knew in her mind that she should eat something, considering she didn't eat dinner the night before, but she didn't feel hungry. She felt numb, with brief spurts of self-hate that would peek through now and then.

She walked up the stairs but stopped at the top when she saw the rose petals. They were a deep red, like the color so often associated with Ruby. She felt as if she would cry, but knew she had no tears left. She followed the rose petals to the bedroom and hesitated before opening the door. She knew that inside would be more rose petals, possible even candles and other flowers, too.

She opened the door and stepped inside. There were rose petals in various shades of red spelling out "Will you marry me?" on the bed, with a trail of white rose petals leading to the bed. There were white candles on the furniture and on Archie's dresser was a record player that had Ruby's favorite song loaded in, ready to play. Ruby reached over and touched the record, as if she were about to play it, but then pulled her hand back. She ran her hand through her hair and backed out of the room.

She went back to the front of the house and pulled her phone out of her bag, which was in the same place where she left it the night before.

"Granny, hi," she said after dialing the familiar number. "I can't some in to work today, I'm sick."

"Are you alright?" Granny asked. "You haven't missed a shift in…I don't even know how long."

"Granny, I just…I just can't come in today," Ruby said.

"Ruby," Granny said sternly, knowing something was up.

"Please," Ruby pleaded. She was in no shape to work that day and she knew so. She just wanted life to stop for a bit so she could wrap her head around everything.

"Are you alright?" Granny asked. "Did Archie hurt you? Do I need to get my crossbow?"

"Granny, of course not," Ruby said. "He didn't do anything wrong. I just can't work today."

"Fine," Granny said. "Call me later today and let me know if you are doing any better."

"I will," Ruby said. "Thank you."

They said their goodbyes and hung up.

Ruby took another look around and realized she could not stay in the house that day. There was too much there, too much she wasn't ready to deal with.

She remembered the person she had grown to turn to when she needed someone to lean on. Ruby prided herself on being independent and strong, but sometimes when she couldn't handle something herself and wasn't ready to approach Granny with it, she turned to one person. She turned to Snow.

Picking up her bag, she turned to leave. She almost made it out the door before stopping herself.

It dawned on her that Archie might show up at the house for her, so she decided to write a note.

"Still not ready to talk. I'm sorry," she wrote. "I'm with Snow, I'm safe. –Ruby"

She left the note on table by the door, where she new Archie would see it, and left to go to her best friend's house.

-OUAT-

"Thanks for letting me stay the night," Emma said to Regina the next morning.

"Not a problem," Regina said. "You know you're welcome here anytime."

"I'm glad we are friends," Emma said.

Regina's head snapped toward Emma at the word "friends". "We're friends?" she asked.

Emma nodded. "Of course we are. It sounds a lot better than 'co-parents'."

Regina chuckled. "I suppose so."

"You know," Emma again. "If you and I could make amends, you could probably do the same with Mary Margaret."

"Do you really think so?"

"Yeah." Emma shrugged. "The town is mostly over the whole curse thing. People have accepted that we're here and we don't know a way out. Since the curse broke, people have been able to find their happy endings here. So while they miss their home, they've adopted this as a second home."

"But it was about more than just the curse with Snow," Regina said. "I hated her."

"But you don't anymore," Emma pointed out. "And she doesn't hate you. She never did. She just never understood why you did what you did."

"So what, we should just talk it out?" Regina scoffed.

"Maybe!" Emma said. "I've seen weirder things in my time."

Regina still didn't look convinced.

"Look, just think about it, okay?" Emma said. "She's Henry's grandmother and she is in his life. You two should try to be more than just civil to each other. If you and I can be friends, you and Mary Margaret can be friends too."

"If I found a way back home, do you think she'd forgive me then?" Regina asked.

Emma shrugged. "I don't know. I don't have the connection with that place like all of you do. I was born there and I was trapped there a couple years ago, but it was never home to me."

Regina nodded, considering this.

"Just try to talk to her, please?" Emma asked. "For Henry."

"Okay," Regina agreed. "For Henry."

"Thank you," Emma said. With that, she turned and left to go to the station for work.

Once Emma was gone and Henry was still upstairs reading his books, Regina headed down to the basement.

Carefully she opened up a series of locks on two doors, then entered a windowless room with only one thing inside: a large black top hat.

She reached into her pocket and took out a smooth stone. She dropped it into the hat.

Regina waited for the stone to be returned through the hat, but it wasn't. She sighed and went back upstairs to make breakfast for Henry.

-OUAT-

"How is she?" Bae asked his father, handing him a cup of tea.

"Thank you," Rumple said, taking the warm cup. "She's still in surgery."

"I'm sorry, Papa," Bae said. "You love her."

"I do," Rumple replied. "Very much."

"Who is she?"

"Her name is Belle," Rumple replied. "Her father was King Maurice. I made a deal with him, I'd use magic to save his kingdom and he gave me her. He refused, but she…she forced them to let her come. She told them her life was hers, and she would make her own choices. So she came to work for me, cleaning up the castle and preparing my meals and whatnot. Somehow she managed to love a beast like me, but I pushed her away. When Regina cast the curse, she kept Belle…she locked her up. But…but she got free and found me. That was three years ago. We're supposed to be married next month."

"She'll be okay, Papa," Bae said. "It will be okay."

"Thank you, Bae," Rumple said.

"What is this curse, though?" Bae asked.

"Not too long after you left, Regina cast a curse that brought all of us back home here," Rumple explained. "We were here for twenty-eight years before the savior broke the curse three years ago."

Bae was quiet for a moment. "You've been here for thirty-one years?"

Rumple nodded. "Thirty-one years, yes."

"You don't look thirty-one years older."

"No one aged for the twenty-eight years of the curse," Rumple said.

"That's odd," Bae said. "I don't think I've aged that much either."

Rumple looked Bae up and down. "You haven't. I didn't notice before. That's…that's unusual."

"The world I went to, no one aged their either," Bae said. "None of my friends there aged."

Rumple smiled softly. "You had friends there."

Bae nodded. "They were like my brothers. They didn't call me by my name, though. We gave ourselves new names."

"Were there any adults?" Rumple asked. "Anyone to take care of you?"

"There was one," Bae said. "But we avoided him; we took care of each other. We were a family."

"Bae…" Rumple said. "I am so sorry. I am sorry I was such a…such a coward. I never stopped trying to find you, I swear."

"I know," Bae said. "But I think you would have liked the place I went to, Papa. There were fairies who could make you fly. We called the place -."

"Mr. Gold," a doctor said, coming down the hallway towards them and cutting off what Bae was going to say.

Rumple quickly stood up to speak with the doctor, and Bae did the same.

"What happened?" Rumple asked. "How did the surgery go?"

"Belle is…stable," the doctor said. "We stopped the internal bleeding. But she is in a coma."

Bae inhaled sharply.

"Well, when will she wake up?" Rumple asked.

"We're not sure."

"You're not sure?" Rumple asked, growing increasingly angry.

"Papa," Bae said, trying to calm his father.

"She could wake in a few hours, a few days, we don't know," the doctor said.

"Where is she?" Rumple asked.

"I'll bring you to her," the surgeon said. "But only one of you is allowed in at a time."

"Go, Papa," Bae said. "I'll go back to the inn I'm staying at."

"How long have you been in this world for?" Rumple asked.

"Only a night," Bae replied. "I'll see you tomorrow, or later today. Go to Belle, she needs you."

"Thank you, Bae," Rumple said. "I love you, son."

Bae hugged his father then left as the surgeon led Rumple to Belle.

Bae was walking out the doors of the hospital when he heard a voice.

"Isn't it a little cold here for you?" said the male voice. Bae turned to face the direction where the voice came from. "What, are you lost, boy?"

Bae clenched his jaw as he saw the person speaking. "Hook."

Hook stepped forward, as if presenting himself to Bae. "Yes, boy. I'm here, too. It seems that when you left Neverland, I came too. Something tied us to the place."

Bae simply gave him a cold stare.

"You do look just like your father when you make that face," Hook said.

Bae still held a icy glare on Hook.

"I don't believe it is you tying to this place," Hook continued. "I believe I know someone from this world, someone who left me in a bad way with a giant. I'm here for her."

"And I'm here for my father," Bae said. "So let's stay out of each other's ways."

"That's a splendid idea," Hook said. "I'd shake your hand, but…"

Bae didn't reply to Hook's sly humor.

"Well then," Hook said. He turned to walk away. "Until next time, Peter Pan," he called over his shoulder.

-OUAT-

Snow opened the door, surprised to see her best friend standing there.

"Red," Snow said. "Hi. I didn't know you were coming."

"Sorry I didn't call," Ruby said. She walked through the door and inhaled, then made a face. "Did you get a cat?"

"We adopted one yesterday," Snow said. "Red, did you walk here? It is freezing outside!"

"I've got a coat on and the roads are mostly cleared already, so it wasn't too bad," Red said. "That cat smell is really strong."

"Really?" Charming asked, walking into the room. "I haven't noticed."

Snow shot him a look.

"Right, the super-smell thing…" he said.

"Excuse me," Ruby said, rushing to the bathroom.

Snow and Charming exchanged a glance, confused, then they heard the sound of Ruby vomiting.

"Was it the cat?" Charming asked.

"I have no idea," Snow said. "Maybe you should take him out, though. I'll go check on Red."

"Okay," Charming said. "I'll be at the office." He looked down to Stealthy. "I guess you're coming with, buddy."

Snow quickly filled a glass with water and went to the bathroom to check on her friend.

"Here, drink this," she said, handing Ruby the glass.

Ruby took a sip. "Thank you."

"What's wrong?" Snow asked. "Are you sick?"

"Not exactly," Ruby said.

"Then what…" Snow let her sentence trail off as a thought occurred to her. "Apples," she said simply.

Ruby looked up at her and laughed a bit. "What about them?"

"I never really liked apples, especially since Regina tried to kill me with one," Snow said. "But I could handle the smell of them fine. But when I was pregnant with Emma, the very smell of them would make me puke. And I've seen you with cats before; you don't particularly like them but you've never thrown up on one, either."

Snow paused, collecting her thoughts.

"Red, did you come over to tell me that you're going to have a -."

"Don't!" Ruby exclaimed. "Don't say the b-word. Please."

"Okay," Snow said slowly. "Well you've told Archie, right?"

Ruby nodded.

"What did he say?"

"That he wants to marry me," Ruby replied.

Snow's eyes widened in surprise at that. "Did you say yes?"

"I kicked him out," Ruby replied. "Kind of, anyway. I wanted to leave, but he left instead. He didn't want me traveling in the storm."

"Well that part makes sense," Snow said. "It snowed like crazy last night. But why did you want to leave?"

"Because I can't handle all this," Ruby said. "This wasn't supposed to happen, not this fast, not like this. Maybe not at all."

"You don't want to marry Archie?" Snow asked. "Red, just the other day we spoke about this and you said you wanted to be with Archie together. What changed?"

Ruby shrugged. "I guess I came to my senses…?"

"Red, you love Archie," Snow said. "He is the father of your baby."

"Don't use the b-word!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Why not?!" Snow asked.

"Because that isn't what it is!" Ruby cried. "It isn't a baby, because I'm a wolf. It's a…puppy."

"Red, listen to me," Snow said. "You're a human, okay? A good one, at that. You are a great person. And you also happen to be a wolf, okay? But you are still a great person."

Ruby shook her head. "I'm a monster, Snow. I've killed people."

"You are not a monster," Snow said. Ruby still didn't look at her. "Hey, look at me. Red."

Ruby reluctantly looked up as Snow took her face in her hands.

"Red, you are not a monster," Snow said. "You made some mistakes-"

"Mistakes?" Ruby exclaimed, scoffing. "A mistake knocking over a glass at the dinner or adding up a bill wrong. Killing a person isn't a mistake. It is a choice, and it is a choice I made."

"But it wasn't you," Snow pointed out. "It was the wolf, and you couldn't control it then. You can now, you have the hood."

"I have one hood."

"Then we'll find another for the baby."

Ruby gave Snow a look.

"Come on, Red," Snow said. "This is happening, and you have to accept it. Be honest, if you take the wolf thing out of the equation, how would you feel about this?"

"I can't just take the 'wolf thing' out of the equation," Ruby said. "It is part of me."

"But you have the hood, so you don't even turn anymore at wolfstime," Snow pointed out.

Ruby sighed. "I'd be happy. Ecstatic, even. I'd be bouncing off the walls because I'd be so happy. If I weren't a wolf, this would be exactly what I want. A man who loves me and our family."

"So this is what you want," Snow said.

"Yeah, it is," Ruby admitted.

"So, forget about everything else and be happy!" Snow said.

"But-."

"No buts," Snow said. "Red, this is what you want. The rest of it, all the complications, they don't matter right now. And when they come up, I know you and Archie can handle them."

"Archie doesn't deserve this, though," Ruby said. "He deserves better than a monster, than a wolf. Two wolves, now."

"Archie knows exactly what he signed up for, and he still loves you," Snow said. "And you are not a monster. When will you stop hating yourself for being a wolf?"

Ruby stared at Snow, surprised that she was so blunt.

"It isn't a choice, and you can't completely control what you do in wolf-form, but you've handled it pretty damn well," Snow said. "Things only got out of hand when you didn't know you were a wolf, but now you do and you've tried everything you possibly could to protect the people around you. You haven't hurt anyone since you've known. So stop hating yourself over what you've done, Red. You can't change it but you can make things better. You already have. You can help your child through being a wolf like someone should have helped you. You can learn from the mistakes of your past. And yes, they were mistakes."

"What if I'm bad at this?" Ruby asked.

"You won't be," Snow said. "Trust me, I understand. The fear you feel about not being any good at this, the worry that you'll mess up. It isn't rational. I've been there, remember?"

Ruby nodded. "Yeah."

"Being a wolf doesn't mean you don't deserve to be happy or that you're a bad person," Snow said. "You deserve the life you want, and now you have it. Be happy and don't let the fear take over."

Ruby nodded, starting to come around and get comfortable with everything that was going on.

"And say yes to Archie."

Ruby laughed and nodded. "I will."

"Come here," Snow said, pulling her friend in for a hug. "I know it is scary. But it will all be okay."

"It is really scary," Ruby said.

"You're welcome to stay here for the day if you want," Snow said. "Not here, as in my bathroom specifically, here as in my place."

"No offense, Snow, but this place reeks of cat," Ruby said.

Snow made a face. "Sorry."

Ruby laughed. "It's fine," she said. "But if I stay here I will throw up again. Why did you decide to adopt a cat?"

Snow shrugged. "I love animals."

"Clearly, if you keep me around."

Snow shot her a stern look.

"That was a joke," Ruby explained, getting up.

"It wasn't very funny," Snow said. "Seriously, being a wolf doesn't define you. You're more than just that, okay?"

"Okay," Ruby said.

"Come on," Snow said. "The weather is still bad. I'll spray some air freshener and you can stay here. We can have a girls' day, just us."

Ruby smiled. "That sounds good."

-OUAT-

"Listen, Belle, I don't know if you can hear me," Rumple began. He was sitting in a chair next to Belle's bed at the hospital, holding her hand. "But I need you to wake up. I am so sorry this happened, Belle. It should have been me who got hurt, not you. I could have driven more carefully or something, I don't know. You shouldn't be in here."

Rumple was silent for a few moments. The only noise in the room was the beeping of the machines monitoring Belle's vital signs.

"Bae is here," Rumple said. "I don't know how he got here but he is. I want you to meet him and I want him to meet you. You'll love him, he's great. He hasn't aged since I've last seen him. It is like he hasn't grown up. I don't know, maybe since he's from where we're from, he was still affected by the curse even though he wasn't actually there when Regina cast the curse. But he's here and we can be a family. You, me, and him. Once you wake up and we get married."

He looked down at her hand and started toying with the ring on her finger.

"Did I ever tell you the story of how I picked this ring?" Rumple asked. "You look so good in blue, Belle. So I decided I should propose with a ring with a blue stone. You know, that pale blue you wore often when you stayed at the castle. I searched everywhere for a rock that color but no jeweler in town sold the right one. So I went to the Blue Fairy and asked her for help. I know I gave up using magic, but this was important so I made an exception with the fairy. She used magic to locate the place in town where I could find blue stone. Then I spent all day digging to get a good enough size rock so a ring could be made out of it. Once I found the right sized rock, I brought it to the jeweler and he made the ring."

Rumple sighed. "I don't know if I ever told you about that. I wish I had."

-OUAT-

Emma got out of her car, exhausted after a long day at work. She still lived with Charming and Snow, so she walked up the way to the door to the building. Before she reached the door, though, she saw a figure move in the shadows.

"Who's there?" Emma demanded, pulling out her gun and pointing it into the darkness.

"Put the gun down," the voice said.

Emma recognized the voice instantly. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

The man came out of the shadows and stood under the street light. The light obscured some of his face from view, but Emma could still see the black hair she used to be so fond of.

"I came for you," the man said. "I came back for you. You think I could really leave you alone?"

Emma shook her head. "It's been…years. It has been years since you've seen me. Why now?"

"I was only able to get into town now," the man said. "But trust me, if I could have come here earlier, I would have."

"You can't be here," Emma said. "My family is here. Henry is here."

"Who's Henry?" the man asked. Emma could hear jealousy in his voice; he had assumed Henry was a boyfriend or something.

"He's my son," Emma said sternly.

"You have a son?" the man asked.

Emma nodded.

"How old is he?" the man asked.

Emma didn't respond.

"Emma!" the man demanded, desperation in his voice. "How old is your son?"

"Thirteen," Emma said quietly.

"You have a thirteen year old son," the man said. "Is he…"

"Yes, Neal," Emma said. "He's yours."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Neal demanded. "I had a right to know!"

"Did you?" Emma asked. "Because you set me up! You got me put in jail! Nothing about that screams father of the year!"

"I did what was best for you!" Neal said. "I had to do what I did! The truth was that what I did led to what was best for you. You had to break the curse!"

"You know about the curse?"

Neal nodded. "Your guardian angel friend convinced me it was real. He made me see that you needed to go through what you went through." He sighed. "He never mentioned a kid, though."

"You abandoned me," Emma said. "And eventually I got over it. But you abandoned Henry, too. How do I explain this to him? How do I explain you being here? I told him you were dead."

"You told him I was dead?"

"What was I supposed to do?" Emma demanded. "Tell him his father was a thief who got me sent to prison? Tell him that his father didn't want either of us?"

"I never knew about him," Neal said. "You never told me!"

"Because I didn't know until I went to prison," Emma said. "And by then you were long gone. You didn't want me anymore, so I figured you didn't want him. That was your choice."

"That I made for you!"

"You need to go," Emma said. "We can't talk about this right now. Meet me for coffee tomorrow at my office at the police station."

"You're a cop?" Neal asked in a joking tone.

"I'm the sheriff," Emma said, clearly not in a joking mood. "We'll talk about this. Until then, stay the hell away from here and my family."

"Okay," Neal agreed sullenly.

Emma turned to walk into the building, but turned again before she was inside.

"There's an inn up the road," Emma said. "Granny's. You can stay there. Tell Granny you're here with me and she'll get you a room."

"Thank you," Neal said. He watched Emma to make sure she got inside, then left.

Emma went to the apartment. She was surprised to see Snow standing near the door, concerned, and Ruby asleep on the couch.

"Mary Margaret," Emma said. "I didn't think you'd be home."

"Are you alright?" Snow asked. "I heard yelling."

"I'm fine," Emma said. She gestured to Ruby. "Is she okay?"

Snow nodded. "She's had a rough couple of days. We were having a girls' day and she fell asleep. She'll be alright, though."

"Good," Emma said.

"Emma, who were you fighting with?"

"Henry's father is here," she answered.

So what do y'all think? A few old faces have just arrived in Storybrooke, how do y'all think that'll play out? Are there any other people you want to show up? Did anything surprise you in this chapter? Please! leave a review!