Belle should have been surprised to find that the Underworld was almost perfectly identical to the real Storybrooke, but she had read much about this realm; what ones had garnered from dreams and visions and recorded in tomes from long ago. She was grateful Rumplestiltskin collected such rare books, or she never would have found a way to him, much less what this place held in store for her when she arrived.

One moment she was surrounded by the cool night air of Storybrooke and a blink later she was standing on the docks in the nearly identical town of the Underworld, the bolstering morning sun shining down on her face.

Knowing where Rumple would be if they were home, in the real Storybrooke, she strode down Main Street, past the fallen clock tower that used to be atop the library, and towards the crumbling building with a disheveled sign reading "Mr. Gold's Pawnshop".

Removing her gloves and stuffing them in the pocket of her overcoat, she turned the handle and pushed open the door. The jingle of the small bell sounded over her head and it seemed unusual to hear such a cheerful sound in a place like this.

Belle felt a swell of adoration tighten in her chest when she shifted her gaze and was met with the sight of her handsome husband bent over the counter, examining a strange-looking artifact that he was tinkering with in his hands.

"I told you, dearie," even though he was still looking down at the object, she could see the smug smile curving his lips, "I –" he dropped the artifact he was observing when his eyes finally met hers, a loud thud reverberating through the room as the object clattered across the glass countertop.

"Belle?" he whispered in confusion, but that voice – the one she had been aching to hear for what seemed like forever – was also laced with such fervor and affection that she couldn't resist anymore and the invisible, magnetic pull that seemed to exist between them drew them closer to one another. His eyes, even from this distance, seemed to thicken, the dark shade almost immediately melting into a warm, golden-brown hue at the sight of her.

She had originally wished to smack him upside the head for making his decision without her – as well as making a decision for her – but she couldn't find it in herself to even consider doing such a thing, not when he stood before her now and not when she had missed him so dearly.

"Rumple."

She took quick steps towards him, seeking the solace that she had only ever found in his arms, but hindered her advancement when she noticed his features tense and he jerked away from her at the last moment.

"Who…who are you? Whose cruel trick is this?"

"It's not a trick, Rumple. It's really me," she assured him. She tried to wrap her husband in her arms, but he pulled away again. She couldn't blame him for being so hesitant (she was just as much surprised as him that she was actually here) but it still hurt to see her affection refuted.

"It's not possible. My Belle – the real Belle – is in Storybrooke."

"It's me, Rum," she spoke with love in her voice and her eyes shone with conviction. She knew there was only one course of action she could take to convince him otherwise. Tentatively, she placed a hand on his arm, stepping closer to him. "Please…you just have to believe in us," she echoed her words from so long ago when she tried to help him escape from Zelena's clutches. Her sentiment seemed to have the desired effect because a look of something akin to surprise and mixed happiness seemed to pass over his face and she could see the tension drain from his body.

She lifted her other hand to caress his cheek and brushed aside a few strands of hair that were threateningly to intrude upon his eye, before gently stroking his jaw with her fingers. Rumple's brown orbs disappeared beneath his eyelids as they fluttered shut in bliss and he pressed closer into her hand. Belle took this as a sign that she could continue, so she tilted her head up and captured his lower lip between her own. He immediately melted into the kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist as their kiss intensified, tongues gently teasing and probing. She smiled fondly into his mouth.

"Oh, Belle," he murmured, pressing his forehead against hers after they parted, "it's really you. How…how is this possible?"

"I found a way. I won't let anything keep us apart ever again," her words seemed to move him and they shared another searing kiss while clutching onto one another.

"I missed you."

"I missed you, too, sweetheart," he caressed her cheek, his thumb gently brushing across her skin. He kept silent for a moment and she watched as his eyes traced the contours of her face before finally settling on her eyes. She couldn't shake the weak feeling in her knees as Rumple's brow creased with adoration and he smiled warmly as he looked upon her. "How is it possible that you look even more beautiful than you did the last time I saw you?" she slightly blushed at his words but found herself moving deeper into his arms nonetheless.

"Of course," he continued, a smirk tugging at his lips, "I'm not sure I could compare how you look now to how you looked before I left: in my arms –" he tugged at her earlobe gently with his lips, "– naked."

She laughed and smiled up at him coquettishly through her thick lashes; she missed this, their sexual banters and their endearments. It was a side of him that was only reserved for her and therefore she was the only one who was aware of it. No one else in Storybrooke or the Enchanted Forest had any idea that this man, the ruthless pawnbroker, dealmaker, and former Dark One, could be so romantic and sensual. Of course, Belle couldn't imagine him any other way.

He pulled his lips away from the delicate skin of her ear and she was melting under the loving gaze he cast upon her. "Now," he grasped ahold of her hands, "I desperately would like to know how my beloved wife found her way down here."

So Belle explained the pain-staking process she went through to find a way to him, the countless, tiring hours she spent poring over books and spells, the lonely nights and the many tears she shed from his absence. She explained with a passionate fury how upset she was over the note he left, and how after all of the separations they had endured, it was time they were finally together, no matter where or in what circumstance.

"Why did you leave me behind?" She questioned. He pulled her into his chest, resting his chin against the top of her head, breathing in her scent and she breathed in his own. "Oh, sweetheart…I'm so sorry. It was a last minute decision to even come here. Knowing this place, and all its evils, I could never subject you to such a place."

She was about to retort that she decided her own fate, and seeming to read her mind, he quickly continued.

"I know I don't have any say over how you live your life. I should have told you and let you decide for yourself. And for that I'm sorry. Truly, truly sorry," he kissed her head, "I was also afraid to leave after tell–" he halted his words abruptly, as if he was about to spill a secret and caught himself at the last second.

"Afraid of what?" she pulled back, looking upon her husband with concern. He cast his eyes down to the ground in shame, taking a step away from her.

"Rumple?"

With a small sigh and reluctance warping his posture he retreated behind the counter and leaned down to retrieve something. A sinking feeling entered Belle's stomach as she took several tentative steps towards the counter to see what he was reaching for. Rumple pulled out an object wrapped in a piece of fabric, setting it down on the counter between them. She noticed his hands trembling as he began to unwrap the hidden object slowly. She heard his nervous breaths and knew something was terribly wrong.

Why did she have this sinking feeling that she already knew what was beneath that fabric?

Rumplestiltskin looked up at her, carefully calculating her face as he pulled back the last barrier of cloth. Tears began to fill her eyes and bile rose in the back of her throat as she gazed down at the Dark One's dagger with her husband's name once again engraved onto the metal. She noticed that the dagger appeared different, darker and slightly more edged, but she honestly couldn't care to consider why at the moment. She was struck with an incredible, soul-crushing pang of agony as she realized that this was just how their love would always be.

Pain, lies, and betrayal.

"No," she whispered in a broken voice. How could he chose to take back his power again? After everything they'd been through? After everything he'd been through? How could she come back to him and he still felt that he couldn't live without the power? She took a step away from the counter, broken, tear-filled eyes still trained onto Rumple's ashamed figure.

"Belle, sweetheart, wait," he begged, his eyes glistening with his own unshed tears. He moved to step around the counter and she took another step back.

"You chose your power over me? ... Again?" her voice broke on the last word and a sob was rising in her throat. She tried to force it down. She would not let this man reduce her to a sobbing mess. He had broken her heart countless times and she'd be damned if she let him break her strength too.

"No!" he cried and she almost believed the sincerity in his voice. This time he did move around the counter and quickly stepped towards her. "Belle. Please let me explain." He tried to caress her face but she harshly pulled away and you would have to be blind to not see the heartbreak enter his eyes.

"Don't." She stepped back, her arms wrapping around herself as several stray tears began to slip from the confines of her eyes, but she didn't wipe them away.

"Please, Belle! Please, just listen to me, it's not what you think."

"It's exactly what I think! I keep thinking that maybe I'm wrong, that you do love me more than your power, and yet you keep choosing it over me, Rumple!"

She trembled violently and turned to leave but this time Rumple managed to grab ahold of her.

"Stop!" she shrieked. He held onto her arm tightly and she struggled to get away. He managed to pull her closer, his other hand gripping ahold of her other arm to stay her.

"Let me –" he tried to begin.

"No!" she tried to free herself, to no avail.

"Please –"

"No!"

"I did this to be with you!" his voice rose several octaves so he could be heard over her repetitions.

"…W-what?" she questioned, baffled by his words, but then she was berating herself for falling for that. Rumplestiltskin did like to toy with words, as well as people. What was to say he wasn't doing the same thing to her right now? Twisting his words to make her stay when in reality she wasn't far from the truth: that he loved his power more than her.

"I swear to you on my son's grave that I did this for us," he remarked sternly with desperate and pained eyes. "If you'll just let me explain. Please?"

She nodded her head after a moment, knowing that despite his curse, despite everything, he would never swear on Baelfire's grave unless he absolutely meant it.

Rumple loosened his grip on her arms. He explained that he had seen an opportunity to escape his newfound fate, to bypass the mark adorning his arm that sentenced him to this place. He explained how desperately he wanted to right all of the wrongs he had made regarding her, and in order to do that, he needed to remain in Storybrooke, in the real work, where she was.

He explained his thoughts from the night Hook died; how that so long as he was the Dark One, Charon might allow him to stay, to work the evils of the Dark One on the world. He confessed that he did not want that darkness to consume his heart again, but the thought of Belle drove him to do it.

"I know that you are better off without me, but I am so desperately in love with you, Belle, that the temptation was too great. I knew that so long as I was still in Storybrooke, I would fight for our love. If you didn't come back after exploring the world, then I would have gone looking for you. No matter how long it took, no matter if you refused me in the end or had already moved on, I at least needed to see you, to tell you I had, and never would, stop loving you. That I was sorry. All of the things I should have said at the well or back in the shop before you left."

Belle considered everything he said and couldn't suppress the warmth that filled her chest. He may be the Dark One again, but he did it for her. She knew now with all of her heart that this was solely for them. She could see it in his eyes. She had a feeling about people, a feeling that made her believe he wasn't a monster right from the very start, a feeling that lead to her falling in love with him, and that feeling was shouting to her now that he was telling the truth, that he did love her more than his power, and that he would do anything for her.

"I–" he winced, knuckling away some of the tears that still streaked down his face. "I understand…if you don't believe me. If you don't want to be with me anymore…I understand... truly… I'll let you go. Just know…that I love you, with every fiber of my being, I deeply and truly love you, Belle. The deal I made with your father was the greatest thing that has ever happened in my entire existence, even if we won't be together forever."

He had remarkably kept his tears at bay during the course of their small fight, but now the tears were flowing freely and she could see the pain in his eyes, despite the small, broken smile he presented to her.

"It's okay, my lo– …Belle. Go." He inclined his head towards the door and released her arms. "Everyone's in the mayor's office," he voice trembled and he cleared his throat before nervously continuing, "they, um – they'll keep you safe."

She carefully contemplated his words. He had done this, risked his life again and gave up his freedom, so he could fight for their marriage, for their love, and she was rooted to the spot, frozen, as she grasped just how truly wonderful this man was.

Did he really expect her to give up on him so easily?

She supposed he did; not too long ago at their well wasn't she the one who denied him a second chance, even when he had become everything she ever hoped he could be? What kind of message would that have sent to Rumple? Why should he ever trust in her unfailing love again?

She knew now that this time around she was the one who needed to prove her love, not him. And she intended to.

He had accepted her silence as an agreement to leaving and had already turned his back on her to move around the counter. She saw his shoulders trembling and heard a strangled sob that he had been fighting to hold back. And seeing her True Love fall apart as he accepted that their relationship was sincerely over crushed her heart more than anything in the world ever had.

She felt herself come to life again, a surge of love and warmth and adoration and pain and lust filling her chest at this wondrous, beautiful, selfless man.

"Rumple," the loud clicks of her heels sounded out against the hardwood floor as he turned towards her. His face was contorted in agony (and Gods that look nearly made more sobs escape from her throat) so she threw her arms around his neck and fervently pressing her lips against his own.

Gods, she loved this man. Her husband, her True Love, her very life.

He stumbled at the impact of her body against his but almost immediately succumbed to her. He released an unsuppressed sound of surprise and passion, his arms wrapping around her. They held onto each other so tightly they could scarcely breathe, but they never let go.

"Can you truly forgive me?" he murmured against her kisses.

She stroked away his tears with her fingers and she smiled into his soulful, brown eyes, "There's nothing to forgive."

They continued their furious kissing from only a moment ago, wide grins caressing their lips as they moved together, hands desperately caressing as much of each other as they could reach. Without having to speak, they both moved towards the backroom at the same time. He flicked his wrist as a hand came up to caress her cheek and she heard the locks to the front and back doors click into place as he secured a safe haven for them. Laughing against each other's interlocked lips, they stumbled into the backroom like drunken teenagers.

"Make love to me, Rumple. Please," she begged.

"Gladly," his teasing voice caressed her ear as he took the lobe between his teeth and pulled gently, causing a little moan to reverberate around in the column of her throat.

Once in the relative safety and privacy of the backroom, Belle divested her overcoat, Rumple's hands not far behind as he gripped the fabric of her mid-thigh length tunic and pulled it over her flowing tresses, her small, black beret coming off with it. His incredibly warm hands and adept spinner's fingers brushed across her exposed skin and she trembled in his grip.

She slipped his suit jacket off of his shoulders, unbuttoning his waistcoat and divesting him of that as well.

"Too many layers," she tsked and wondered how he could wear a three piece, sometimes four piece suit every single day, even in the summer.

"I could say the same for you, sweetheart," he mumbled into her scalp as he breathed in the scent of her recently showered hair. She smirked, knowing full well that he considered her being in her bra and underwear as too many layers.

Her fingers moved across the skin of his chest as it became exposed, the flesh warm and smooth. Once the final layer covering his torso was gone, she titled her head back to get a look at him and couldn't help the wetness that began to pool between her legs. A taunt stomach and muscular chest, with a small trailing of hair traveling from his navel to his sternum made up his strong torso. His pants looked so wonderfully tight, even if he wasn't wearing those ridiculously tight (yet ridiculously attractive) leather breeches from the Enchanted Forest.

As he leaned his head down to suck on the skin of her throat, she ran a hand over the bulge in his trousers, squeezing his erection through the thick fabric before beginning to undo his belt buckle. Rumplestiltskin moaned her name, those incredible fingers quickly undoing the clasps that held her bra together and slipping the straps off of her shoulders. His hands trailed down her spine to her black stockings, slipping them down her legs. She toed off her knee high boots and kicked off her leggings as she finally unfastened the belt and unzipped his pants.

With only one final layer barring her hands from the protrusion in his boxer shorts she could feel the warmth of it through the fabric and a curling heat developed in the pit of her stomach. She pressed her thighs together tightly to alleviate some of the ache that was growing there. Rumple must have felt the proximity of her hands as well because he moaned against her neck where his lips were still devouring her skin. She would more than likely be covered in hickeys come tomorrow. Not that she had a problem with that.

Let the whole bloody Underworld know who she belonged to.

She pushed his pants to the floor and he quickly stepped out of them, withdrawing his lips from her neck, and she was pleased she could look into those beautiful brown eyes again. She could never get enough of them. She could never get enough of him.

He pressed his forehead against hers, drawing breath against her face as he fought to refill his lungs with oxygen after a particularly furious kiss to her neck. They opted to stare into each other's eyes for a moment as they always found themselves doing. It was the one place where she didn't find any lies or deceit or interruptions or trivial matters. It was the one place where she could truly see his unfailing love for her, and where he could no doubt see her own reflected back to him.

Her fingers traveled from the waistband of his boxers, gently crossing the plane of his stomach, following the trail of hair up to his chest, teasingly pinching a nipple between her fingers with a wide smirk on her face, before they couldn't contain themselves any longer and their lips met once again.

He gripped the waistband of her panties and pushed them down her legs and she finally managed to reach her hand between their bodies and remove the barrier between his cock and her eager hand. Belle released a strangled cry as Rumplestiltskin pressed their bodies together, his arousal, hard and hot and wet, was pressed into her stomach, and her belly was doing flips at the sensation. He pushed his tongue into her mouth and lifted her petite body off of the ground. She laughed gently against his lips, winding her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck.

Belle felt a profoundly pleasant ache fill her chest as her True Love wrapped one arm around her shoulders and the other underneath her bottom, caressing her skin gently as he moved over to the cot against the wall. His tongue stroked her teasingly before capturing her bottom lip between his own and kissing her deeply.

Cradling her in his arms, he climbed onto the cot, holding her to his chest as he laid back against the sheets with her straddling his thighs. A devious little thought crossed her mind that would have left her a blushing mess had she thought of it at any other time but at the moment she could only grin, anticipating his reaction. He groaned loudly against her lips when her fingers curled around the base of his cock, stroking his pulsing warmth in her grip. Separating their lips, she sat back on her knees, shifting all of her attention to his arousal. She couldn't help releasing a small whimpering sound as precum started seeping from the tip and she was struck with a tenacious urge to taste his desire for her.

Brushing her thumb across the tip, she gathered his passion on the pad of her thumb, bringing it to her mouth for a taste. She sucked her thumb clean and her sweet husband nearly lost all control, his body trembling beneath her. She stroked him from base to tip, that devious little smirk present on her lips once again as she leaned forward and placed tender kisses to the tip. She peered up at him seductively through her thick, black lashes and found his handsome face contorted in pleasure, those wonderful brown eyes alight with love and passion and lust as he gazed back at her. She slipped the head of his hot cock into her mouth, her tongue swirling around the shaft as she suckled all of the juices out of him.

"Gods, Belle!" he released something akin to a growl as he sat up on the cot, bringing her into his arms, her core sliding deliciously against his length. He slipped his hand between her thighs to seek out her own passion and caressed the small bundle of nerves between his calloused fingers and now it was Belle's turn to nearly come apart. He slipped two fingers between her folds, releasing a feral growl as he no doubt registered just how wet he was making her. He stroked her opening desperately, bringing his pointer and index finger wet with her wanton pleasure to his mouth, and he hummed as he tasted her.

"You taste incredible, my love."

She gasped, her hands faltering on his cock between their stomachs, "Rumple…please."

"Eager are we?" he teased and she wondered how he could remain so composed; she was practically losing her mind with lust.

"I – I need you inside of me, Rumple," she gasped.

"Beautiful Belle," he moaned in adoration as her fingers reaching between their bodies to grab ahold of his cock once more, shifting her hips so that she could lower herself onto him. He grabbed ahold of his arousal as well and they both guided his cock to her opening, her thrusting downwards and him thrusting upwards as their skin impacted. Rumple moaned and Belle sighed deeply and longingly and they both tilted their heads to embrace in a searing kiss as she sat in his lap, thrusting against each other in a tantalizing rhythm.

And while their tongues were fighting for dominance she could still taste his passion in her mouth and now her own passion from his tongue. The taste of herself and him mixed together in each other's mouths and she swore she nearly orgasmed in his arms right then and there at that notion.

It didn't take long before Belle felt the throes of her climax wash over her and she saw stars as she buried her face into her lover's neck, crying his name. Her walls fluttered around him and then he was crying her own name into her ear, his hot seed filling her, and she smiled breathlessly, their numb limbs refusing to hold them up as they both collapsed in a heap. She was half splayed across his chest with his cock softening inside of her but she didn't care and Rumple didn't seem to mind either. She felt his arms loop around her back, cradling her trembling body into his chest as they fought to control their breathing while they laid in the afterglow of their passionate love-making. Belle felt a cool sheet flutter against her skin as Rumple conjured it over their exposed bodies.

After a while, Belle felt the tell-tale signs of discomfort due to the position she'd been in, so she shifted, lying beside her husband. He rolled over onto his side so they could look at each other and she felt a smile tug at the corner of her lips as he gazed upon her face in wonderment as he always did, as if Belle was a fantasy or a dream come to life, as if he couldn't comprehend how she could be here beside him. It made her feel so wonderful; made her feel loved and wanted and desired and cherished and Gods she loved that he loved her so.

Her handsome Rumplestiltskin reached his hand out and gently ran his fingertips across her cheekbone. He stroked the skin of her jaw, a thumb brushing across her lips and they couldn't break their deep gaze into each other's eyes even if their lives depended on it. Their faces are so close together (they're practically sharing the same pillow) that Belle could see the patterns in the depths of his eyes and she was mesmerized by their beauty.

She was reminded of just how long it had been since she had truly gazed into his eyes like this. When they made love that morning she came back to Storybrooke she had been too exhausted to do much of anything other than sleep. She recalled sleeping half the day away, which was why when she awoke in the middle of the night, Rumplestiltskin was already gone. She cringed internally at the reminder of that terrible, month-long separation. She had missed him so, so greatly. His kisses, his caresses, his eyes, his hands, his voice, his scent…everything.

"You know," she said with a laugh, disrupting the silence that had been hanging over the shop, "I spent weeks in that library reading through book after book to find a way to you. I feel ashamed to admit this, but I was growing sick of my own library and I couldn't bear to come home and pick up a good book to read before I went to bed…what?" A confused frown had rumpled his brow at her statement. She expected him to have some degree of surprise when she told him this, but not this look of worried befuddlement that was written on his face now.

"H-how long did you say you were researching?"

"A few weeks," her brow furrowed in confusion at his question, "nearly a month." Rumple inhaled sharply and that "deep-in-though" look passed over his face. She reached a hand out, caressing his warm cheek, "Rumple, what's wrong?"

"How strange," he shook his head, as if the thoughts were so muddled and filling up his brain that he couldn't think straight. He sat up, running a hand through his hair and she followed suit, rubbing circles across his back with her palm as he contemplated something. "Time…it must function differently here somehow – must run slower than in reality – makes sense, I suppose," he muttered mostly to himself as he thought aloud, and Belle's hand faltered on his warm skin.

Was he saying what she thought he was saying?

"Rumple?"

"You say it's nearly been a month for you, my love?" he turned to face her and she nodded yes. "For myself…I'm afraid only a week has passed." Belle's stomach sank as her fears were confirmed.

"A – a week?"

"Indeed…I'm so sorry, Belle. I never intended for us to be apart for so long. Truly. I'm sorry that it was a longer wait for you than for myself."

She murmured that it was okay, giving him a gentle smile to prove it. And truthfully, it was. She didn't like that an entire month had passed for her while only a week had for Rumple, but it didn't really matter in the end. They were together now, and things could have been worse. He could've returned a year after departing to find twenty had passed in Storybrooke. Just the thought of that left Belle uneasy.

A sudden wave of nausea accompanied her unease, but thankfully it passed. She had spent nearly the entire month pouring out the contents of stomach back in Storybrooke and she had been so incredibly grateful when it stopped within the past week. She didn't need this now. Especially since it would worry Rumple half to death.

With their bodies inclined towards one another, he took the opportunity to wrap one of his strong arms around her waist, leaning his head forward to kiss her.

"Gods, you're beautiful," he whispered. Their lips were only centimeters apart, the tips of their noses brushing together, when the nausea struck again, only this time much, much more persistently.

Jolting from the bed, she ran as fast as she could to the small bathroom in the corner of the shop, barely managing to life the lid and crouch down as she emptied her stomach. She heaved heavily and her diaphragm ached at the intensity of it all. Tears burned her eyes and her nose crinkled at the acrid smell.

She heard her husband call her name and a second later he was there, gathering her hair and pulling it to the side, his other hand stroking the skin of her back in loving circles. She felt him press a kiss between her should blades and he remained there until she was done, pressing his forehead into her skin, continuing to stroke soothing circles on her back.

She became aware once her heaving had subsided that she was completely bare and although Rumplestiltskin had become quite familiar with her body after countless hours upon hours of making love, she still felt embarrassed to be so exposed like this. He must have sensed her thoughts, or felt like giving her some dignity, because the next second she was dressed in a camisole and some loose sweat pants.

"Are you alright, my love?" he questioned after she flushed the toilet and turned to him. She took notice of the white t-shirt fitted around his muscular (yet thin) torso and the boxer shorts he must have conjured onto himself. He stroked her arms as he assessed her carefully, bringing a curled finger up to her chin and tilting her head up so he could look in her eyes.

"Belle?"

"I – I'm not sure. I hadn't thrown up in a while, I was sure it had passed for good a week ago."

"A week ago?" he asked with worry, sliding his fingers across her skin to gently caress her cheek in his palm. "Have you been feeling sick, sweetheart?"

"I don't know…I suppose. I've been throwing up and getting upset over the silliest little things, and –" it hit her then and she gasped in realization. All of these symptoms, the sickness and the emotions and the cravings and the tender breasts, they all began to occur within the last month and she had attributed it to being upset at Rumplestiltskin's absence, but now… Now she grasped what was truly going on.

They had made love the morning he left and shortly following that day the symptoms had begun to occur. Her hands, seeming to have a mind of their own, immediately caressed her stomach through the camisole and she could swear she felt a small bump growing there, one she had never noticed before.

Rumple seemed to understand what was going on and he gasped too, gently entwining their hands on top of her stomach.

"Are you sure?... Do you truly think –"

"Maybe," she interrupted, finally looking into his eyes, and he looked right back, "Could you…could you check?"

He nodded, gently releasing her hands, "Yes, of course." He stepped around her, retrieving a toothbrush and some toothpaste from the medicine cabinet above the sink. "Here. Go ahead and use these while I prepare the potion."

Once he stepped out of the small bathroom and into the backroom, Belle brushed her teeth almost mindlessly; she was grateful the bitter taste in her mouth was gone, but other than that she couldn't think of much else.

A baby… She and Rumplestiltskin were going to have a baby. Belle had this feeling deep in her core; call it would woman's intuition or what have you, but it was the only thing that made sense at the moment, this child, created from her and Rumple's True Love, growing inside of her.

Once she finished cleansing her mouth from the vile aftertastes of morning sickness (as she could now appropriately define it), she slipped out to check on her husband's progress. The work table was littered with vials and ingredients and Rumple was bent over the table mixing a final liquid into the vial he held before he set it down with careful diligence.

She found it somewhat amusing to see him working on potions in his boxer shorts; in the past the closest she came to such a display was his tight leather pants as he worked in the tallest tower in the Dark Castle or when he removed his jacket and waistcoat back in Storybrooke and his muscles were faintly visible through the thin fabric of his shirt.

"Is it ready?" she questioned with a slightly humorous smile that he couldn't see.

"Almost. The only ingredient left is a hair from each of us, and then it will tell us what we want to know."

She carded her fingers through the long, silky strands of her hair, curling her fingers to capture any loose strands. Rumple did the same as she stepped towards him and he gently plucked the hair from the fingers she extended out to him. He carefully slipped both strands into the vial.

Gripping his hand, they both watched with baited breath as the strands of hair dissolved in the swirling purple substance.

"How…how will we know?" She leaned her head against his arm, watching the potion work its magic with calculating eyes.

"If you are…carrying our child…the liquid in this vial will be a bright, golden color and if not, it will remain the same."

"How long do you think it will take?" she didn't know if she could stand here in silence with him wondering and waiting for too long.

"At the most, five minutes. It really shouldn't be too long a wait."

She nodded her head.

"Do you –" he turned to face her, "do you want us to have a baby?" And that waver of uncertainty and doubt and worry caused her heart to ache that he would ever think she wouldn't want this with him.

"Of course!" she grabbed ahold of him and her voice quieted to a low, sincere murmur at her next words, "You know I want to start a family with you."

"I figured you wouldn't want to carry the spawn of the Dark One," he spoke vehemently though she knew his disgust wasn't intended to be directed at her but himself.

She sighed softly, shaking her head at him in disbelief.

"Rumplestiltskin," she said in a scolding tone, her hands reached up to caress his cheeks, a hint of stubble patterning across his skin from days without shaving. She brushed his cheekbones with her thumbs, bringing her face closer so their eyes were the only thing within one another's view. "I love you…I want us to have a baby…and when we do," she smiled brightly, "they'll be the product of True Love…" Tears glistened in her sweet spinner's eyes at her sincere sentiments and as her proclamation progressed they only managed to intensify, a stray one escaping and running down his cheek, which she lovingly brushed away. "He or she will be beautiful and I will love them… no matter what."

"Oh, sweetheart," he smiled softly and tilted his head to kiss her and she was about to embrace those warm, soft, inviting lips when an intense, golden light shone in the corner of her eye. Rumple seemed to notice it too because he stopped, pulling his head back, and they both released a collective sound of utter joy and bewilderment as they turned to look at the vial on the worktable.

"Rumple," her own eyes glistened with tears now as her belief was truly confirmed and she laughed in contentment. He cried his own joy as well and their lips met almost of their own accord. It took them a moment to lock their lips just right against the wide grins spreading across both of their faces, but once they managed, Belle could feel an entirely new sob building in her chest as she felt his pure joy and love through the kiss.

"My beautiful, perfect Belle," he murmured against her, "I – I'm going to be a father again," she knew the memory of Bae's death was still fresh in his mind, as it always would be, and it warmed her all the way to her very soul to know that she would be gifting him with such a thing as fatherhood again. She could give him a second chance and she knew this time he wouldn't fail. And Rumplestiltskin, whether he knew it or not, was giving her a gift of her own. She had always loved children, had always wanted her own, and to know that she would finally be granted just that, that she was going to have a baby with her True Love and that this child would be half of Rumplestiltskin, filled her with such a joy she could scarcely contain it.

"And I'm going to be a mother," she spoke after they ceased their intense kissing. She smiled at the prospect of Rumple adoring her while she held their child, and vice versa. She couldn't wait to start this journey with him.

"Are you happy? Truly, truly happy?" he asked in all seriousness.

She released a mixture of a sob, a sigh, and a laugh as she nodded her head frantically, looping her arms around his neck and kissing him deeply once again. She felt his warm fingertips ghost across her stomach through the thin camisole, stroking the small, almost unnoticeable bump that grew there, and she felt a newfound lust for him develop inside of her.

"Now," she looked up at him once they parted for air, "take these ridiculous clothes off of us and make love to me again," she nipped at his bottom lip before he could capture her lips in another searing embrace

"Again?" he asked, but she knew he was teasing.

"Unless –"she ran her hands down his chest slowly, irritated that the white cotton shirt barred her from feeling the sweet warmth of his skin. Her hands found the growing bulge in his boxer shorts and she squeezed gently, causing him to jerk in her palm. A groan rumbled through the column of his throat. "– you don't want to?" she asked in a voice that intoned she was saddened by the thought but they both knew she was only teasing him back.

Playing along, he shook his head, removing his hands from her stomach. "And if I don't want to…what'll you do?" she could have sworn he bit his lip for a brief second and she felt a wetness begin to develop between her legs. She took a step away from him and it nearly killed her to do so but she knew all of this teasing would be worth it in the end.

"If you won't make love to me right now…" she pretended to think, though she knew she herself couldn't agree to any terms she came up with, let alone Rumple. "…then you won't be able to make love to me for the rest of this pregnancy. Not here and not in Storybrooke. Not even in the shop, or the library, or the car, or the cabin, or even Granny's."

He laughed, "You'll have to do better than that, dearie. Besides, I'm willing to bet I'd last a lot longer than you."

"Alright…no sex and you have to sleep in the shop during the entire pregnancy, alone. And finally…I'll make Granny quadruple the cost of pickles. Just for you."

She had to fight to stifle a laugh as Rumplestiltskin feigned mock hurt at her words, and he barely managed to keep a straight face as he disbelieving questioned her. "You would…you would do that? To me?"

And that was when their charade ended because Belle nearly doubled over on the floor in fits of laughter and he followed shortly afterwards. She couldn't deny that she had missed this with all of her heart. The light-sided, playful, humorous part of her husband was foreign and unknown to everyone else but it was a part of the man before her that she deeply treasured. She had missed these jokes, the teasing and the laughs and the smirks and the endearments. It had truly been too long since they had been together like this.

And now they had their child growing between them, too.

Forgetting their jests, they wound their arms around one another, still alight with laughter as they kissed tenderly, and Belle heard the snap of his fingers and suddenly all of her clothes were gone as he obliged her request.

"Finally," she mumbled and she felt him smirk against her lips as he tightened his hold on her. She realized his clothes were gone as well and whimpered when she felt the warmth of his skin flush with hers and then she was gasping when she felt the hardness of his member prodding into her as he pulled her towards him.

They stumbled back towards the cot and Belle laid down once the back of her knees hit the thin mattress. The sheets were still warm from before as she laid down and shifted into a more comfortable position. Kneeling between her legs, her sweet, handsome husband leaned down and pressed a kiss against her stomach while he stroked it softly with his fingertips and she nearly burst into tears when he murmured I love you both so much between his kisses.

Once he pulled away from her stomach, he gently grabbed her thighs and slid her down the sheets towards him until he was teasing her entrance with the tip of his cock. He leaned forward and caressed her beautiful face with tender kisses and she stroked his hair in adoration. He slid a hand down between her thighs, stroking his fingers through her wetness and stimulating her clit with his thumb before parting her folds with his member and sliding inside of her with ease. She cried into his mouth as he claimed her lips and they thrusted against each other, already desperate for release.

It wasn't long before her orgasm had built insider her core and she came apart in his arms. As her walls clenched around him in the most quintessential fashion, the Dark One was reduced to a shaking mess as he gasped and moaned her name into the skin of her throat. The fluttering of her tight walls as her orgasm consumed her brought Rumplestiltskin's to the brink and he gushed spurt after spurt of his hot seed into her.

"Oh, Belle," he mumbled after a moment as he laid atop her with his sweaty forehead pressed into her collarbone. He tried to move off of her so he didn't crush her with his weight, but Belle honestly couldn't care less and wrapped her arms around his shoulders tightly, pressing a kiss to his damp hair as they struggled to catch their breath. His cock began to soften inside of her again as they held each other blissfully in the afterglow.

"I love you," he mumbled after a while, pressing light, lingering kisses to her sweaty skin.

"I love you, too."

He tried to roll off of her again and she let him. He slipped out of her as he collapsed onto his back but the next moment she felt his arms pulling her closer to him, her head cradled against his frantic heartbeat and she listened to it steadily beat out his love for her.