9

Family Trees and Fendi Purses

After everyone was done kidding around, for the most part, Snow and David handed out the Hard Rock Café shirts to everyone, they each had a different color, from Rumple's black to Emma's green and Regina's hot pink. Belle had sapphire blue and Alina lavender, while Henry had gold and Bae red. Charming had white and Snow had yellow. They all thanked Snow for the thoughtful gift, and then relaxed with some microwave popcorn and hot cocoa.

David helped Regina get into her frilly Wizard of Oz nightgown, with her matching "ruby" slippers, and Sofia in one arm. The toddler then proceeded to show her family how she could tie Sofia's boots, receiving praise for her achievement from all of them. She then proceeded to ask all the men in the family to tell her a story, and they all agreed.

"I'll go last," David said. "So I can tuck her in."

"And I can go first," Henry said. He pulled the children's version of The Wizard of Oz up on his Nook and read it to Regina, who clapped after the Wicked Witch was defeated and Dorothy went home to Kansas.

"That was a cool story! Thanks, Henry!" she said, and hugged the older boy.

"You're welcome, Regina," he said, smiling at her and then he hugged her back. "Okay, now go over to my dad, and he'll tell you another one."

Regina padded over to where Bae was sitting in the recliner and climbed up into his lap, saying, "Your turn now, Bae!"

Bae grinned and said, "Okay, chatterbox." He looked over at his son. "Henry, give me your tablet."

Henry went and gave his father his Nook, and Bae downloaded a story. "Ready? This is the story of a little boy who lived a long time ago in China called Tikki Tikki Tembo."

Regina giggled. "That's a funny name, Bae."

"Yeah, it is, isn't it? But his real name was much longer than that."

"Like Unca Rumple's name is Rumplestiltskin?" the toddler queried.

"Yeah, kind of like that. But this kid's name was really long," Bae explained. "Because of an ancient Chinese custom where parents gave their first born sons long elaborate names that everyone had to say completely—and thank you God we didn't have this custom where I came from."

"What was it, Bae?"

"His name was Tikki Tikki Tembo-no Sa-Rembo-chari Bari Ruchi-pip Peri Pembo," Bae recited. "And that meant The Most Wonderful Thing in the Whole Wide World."

Emma shook her head. "That poor kid must have taken ten minutes just to write his name in school!"

"Yeah, his parents weren't too full of themselves, now were they?" Belle said, rolling her eyes.

"And I thought my name was bad to spell," Rumple remarked.

They all listened as Bae read the story of Tikki Tikki Tembo and his little brother Chang who were playing beside a well and how first one boy and then the other fell in the well and had to be rescued, but Tikki Tikki Tembo nearly died because his name was so long that by the time his brother managed to say all of it he'd almost drowned from being stuck in the water so long. But finally the boy was rescued by the Old Man With A Ladder and from then on the custom changed and Chinese boys were gifted with short names that everyone could pronounce.

Regina had fun with Bae trying to pronounce that ridiculous name and seeing which one of them could say it faster. The little girl squealed with glee when Bae declared she won that contest, then made him read it again just so she could say the boy's name again.

Emma smiled as she listened to her husband, and said quietly to Snow, "He's really good with little kids, isn't he?"

Snow nodded. "All the men in this family are. Especially Rumple. Watch when he tells Regina a story."

"Will he use magic or something?" Emma asked.

"No. But he does something really neat. Right, Alina?"

Gold's daughter nodded. "Yeah, Emma. He's the best storyteller. You'll see why."

"I know why," Henry said, coming over to hug his mother.

"Why?" Emma asked, looking at him.

"You'll see," her son said mysteriously.

"All right, imp. I'm done, now go see Uncle Rumple," Bae said, and received a kiss on the cheek from the tiny girl before Regina got down and ran over to Rumple.

"Unca Rumple, tell me a story!" she said, and lifted her arms up for him to pick her up.

"How do you ask, Miss Nolan?" the sorcerer asked.

"Pretty please with sugar on top!" Regina said, beaming at him.

"Okay, little imp," Rumple agreed, and he scooped her up and put her on his knee. Then he tapped her ears and said, "Now, all good little girls put their listening ears on and be very quiet," he put a finger to her lips, "while I tell you an old tale that happened long long ago in a far away land. Once upon a time, there lived two little girls, sisters, called Snow White and Rose Red, in a small cottage with their mommy, since their daddy had died in a war when the girls were babies. . . ."

Rumple continued the tale, telling of how the sisters were both pretty little girls, though Rose Red had dark hair and brown eyes and Snow White was fair with china blue eyes, and Rose was outgoing and loved adventures, while Snow was quiet and preferred reading to running about outside. But the two girls loved each other very much and their home was a happy one, until the night Rose went and answered a knock at the door.

And here Rumple rapped on the table, simulating someone knocking.

"When Rose Red opened the door she saw . . . a huge bear standing there and she was so scared she screamed," Rumple said, and then he screamed just like a little girl, making everyone jump, save Belle, Bae, Alina, and Henry, who were familiar with Rumple's storytelling embellishments.

Regina bounced on his knees, giggling. "And did the bear eat her?"

Rumple shook his head, his brown eyes twinkling. "No, dearie. For this wasn't that sort of bear. Instead he said, "Don't be afraid. I'm half-frozen, and all I want is to thaw out in front of your fire, for it's beastly cold out here." And as he took the bear's part, Rumple's voice shifted to a deep growly one that rumbled deep in his chest.

Then as quick as a blink, his voice changed to high and soft as he had Rose reply to the bear and invite him inside as long as he promised to do them no harm.

"And so the deal was struck, dearie, and into the cottage came the big black bear, black as pitch, with a pelt dark as a moonless night . . ."

Emma gasped. "My God, he's like watching a play!"

"Yeah, Papa always does voices when he tells stories," Alina said, smiling affectionately at her parent.

"He's an incredible mimic," Snow chuckled. "Listen."

Emma sat almost as spellbound as Regina as Rumple continued the tale of Rose Red and Snow White, shifting voices whenever he came to a different character, including making his voice high and squeaky, nearly reminiscent of the one he'd sometimes used as the Dark One, when he did the evil dwarf who tried to trick the girls into giving him the bear's treasure hidden in the forest.

He growled and bellowed so realistically when then bear returned and fought the evil dwarf that Regina almost jumped off his lap, but an instant later he said, "Did I scare you, dearie?"

Regina shook her head, "Nope! I like when you scare me, Unca Rumple!"

Her uncle laughed softly, "Okay, and then the bear chased the dwarf all over . . ."

"That's freaking amazing!" Emma said. "Where'd he learn to do that?"

Bae shrugged. "I have no idea. But he always told me stories like that before bed back in the Enchanted Forest. I thought everybody's dad did." He smiled reminiscently, recalling a small cozy cottage like the one in the story, where a small boy lay curled beneath a sheepskin-lined blanket woven lovingly by the spinner who told him such fantastic stories, drowsing before a crackling fire while listening to tales like the one Rumple was telling Regina.

Alina came and leaned against Belle on the couch, her dark eyes dreamy as she too recalled Rumple telling her bedtime stories like that when she was small, and even after that, when she had been injured and in the hospital recovering from a concussion after being beaten up by Tom Mason at school.

Belle put an arm around her and together they all listened as Rumple concluded the tale, and the bear's curse was broken and he became a prince again and married Rose Red and Snow White married his younger brother and they all lived happily ever after.

"Okay, Regina, now it's time for all little girls to go to sleep," Gold said, now speaking in his normal voice again.

"Aww! Unca Rumple!" she began.

"Ah ah!" he held up a finger. "Good little girls that go to sleep when they're told get a surprise at the toy store tomorrow. But bad little girls that stay awake and argue get nothing at all. Do we have a deal, dearie?"

Regina pouted, her little forehead scrunched as she considered. Finally she huffed, clearly put out, but then she said, "O-kay, Unca Rumple! I go to sleep now." Then she kissed him on the cheek and said, "Goodnight!"

"That's my girl," he praised, and kissed her back. "Now say good night to everyone else and then go in by Daddy and he'll tell you the last story."

So Regina went and kissed everyone else goodnight, and then went inside the bedroom she shared with Snow and David.

David was waiting to tuck her in after she had used the potty, and he sat with her after smoothing the covers over her, and said, "Okay, baby girl, Daddy's going to tell you the story of a princess and a unicorn—"

But Regina shook her head. "No, Daddy! Want you to sing instead! Sing the pretty horses song."

David smiled. He might not be able to do voices like Rumplestiltskin, but he did have a beautiful tenor, and he began singing Regina's favorite lullaby, "Hush-a-bye, don't you cry, go to sleep my little baby. When you wake, you shall have, all the pretty little ponies . . ."

He tucked Sofia beside her and sang about all the different colors of ponies, and gradually the child's eyes grew heavy and soon they shut, until by the last stanza, Regina was sleeping soundly, her doll in one hand, her cheek nestled against the white pillow like a dark-haired cherub come down to earth.

"Good night, my princess," her father murmured, kissing her and then rising to leave the room.

"That was good, David," Snow said to her husband.

"Yeah, well, tomorrow it's you girls' turn," Charming said.

"Great," Emma sighed. Then she recalled what she had bought on Ellis Island and went to get it out of the bag to show the family. "When we were on Ellis Island," she began, carrying something wrapped in brown paper into the den, "I realized something . . . that everyone who came here to America had a past they sometimes wished to forget . . . and they were trying to make a new life from the ashes of the old one. Just like we did in Storybrooke. And sometimes . . . sometimes families were separated, for years even, yet somehow they always found their way back to each other."

She began unwrapping the object, saying softly, "Uh . . . what I'm trying to say is that . . . for a long time I . . . was angry about being sent through the wardrobe and growing up here alone . . . and even though I understood why you did it, I still resented you for making that choice . . . but now I see . . . you did the right thing . . . . and it's time to forgive what's gone before and get on with my life. Because what's important is that we're all together now, as a family."

"Oh, Emma!" Snow was crying silently, and then she hugged her daughter.

David came and did the same on the other side, also blinking back tears. "Thanks, Emma. This means . . . everything to us."

"It does to me too . . . Mom and Dad," Emma said, calling them for the first time by their true title. For the first time it didn't feel awkward, but fitting. She brushed tears from her eyes too. "I didn't realize how much I was hurting all of us by not letting go of my resentment until I read a story on Ellis Island about an immigrant family separated by circumstances . . . and who were finally reunited with each other . . . decades later. And I realized then that I was being selfish, acting like I was the only one who'd ever grown up alone . . . without a family . . . when there were others just like me . . . and some of them never got a second chance like I did . . . so why waste it?"

Then she finished unwrapping the package, revealing a large frame of cherry wood with a picture of a tree of intertwining branches and spaces to write in your own ancestry. "This is a family tree I bought, I figure it's time we started recording this stuff, especially since Belle and Rumple are going to have a baby. We don't want the poor kid to be totally confused, now do we?"

"Our family tree is kind of . . . convoluted, dearie," Rumple said, coming over to examine the chart sitting in the middle of the frame.

"Yeah, that's why I wanted your input before I started writing," Emma said, taking out a dry erase marker from the bag. "The chart here is made of the same stuff they make dry erase boards from, so we can add or erase names if we need to."

In the center of the trunk was a space to write a family name. Emma wrote "Gold". Then she wrote her name, Emma Swan Gold in one space, and next to it Baelfire Gold. Beneath them she drew a line and wrote Henry Gold. Above her name, she wrote, Mary Margaret "Snow White" Nolan and next to her David "Charming" Nolan. Then she drew another line below them and next to her own and wrote Regina Nolan.

Above Bae's name, she wrote Milah and Rumplestiltskin Gold, then next to Gold's name on the other side she wrote Belle Gold and drew another line below them and wrote Alina Rose Gold and next to her wrote "baby Gold" beneath a second line.

"Okay. Now this is where I need you guys to help me," Emma said. "That's as far as I know." She looked at Snow. "What were your parents called, Mom?"

"My father's name was Leopold and my mother was Eva," Snow told her.

Emma wrote them down. Then she added another line above Snow's name and wrote Regina Mills. "Because she was your stepmother, and I think that's how we can all refer to her from now on . . . just so things don't get confusing. Umm . . . what were her parents' names? I know her father was Henry, she named you after him," she said to her son.

"Her mother's name was Cora," Rumple answered.

Emma wrote Cora and Henry Mills above Regina Mills.

"Cora . . ." Bae muttered. "Like . . . the Queen of Hearts?"

"That's her mother, dearie. They're one and the same," Rumple replied.

"Flaming hell!" Bae swore. "You mean to tell me I was held captive by Regina's mom all those years?"

"I'm afraid so," Rumple sighed. "She pushed her mother into a portal to Wonderland just before she married Leopold, and that's where she remained ever since."

"It's too bad nobody ever tried to chop off her head," Bae said bitterly.

Rumple reached out and patted his son on the shoulder. "I know. I'm sorry I didn't take care of her when I had the chance long ago."

"You knew her, Papa?"

"Yes. She was one of my apprentices," the master sorcerer sighed. "The first one, actually. One of the worst mistakes I made, teaching her magic. But . . .hindsight's always twenty-twenty, as they say."

"Yeah, well, what's done is done," Bae sighed.

Emma looked at Charming. "Dad, who were your parents?"

"My mom was named Ruth and my father was a shepherd named David as well. I had a twin brother called James, and my stepfather was King George," David recited.

Emma wrote their names above David's. Then she looked over at Belle and Rumple. "Your turn. Belle, I already know your father's name is Maurice," She wrote Maurice French above Belle's name. "And your mom?"

"Her name was Alina, like my daughter's," Belle replied. "She died when I was seven."

Emma wrote that in, then looked at Rumple. "How about you, Rumple?"

"My father's name was Colin, dearie. And my mother's was Daria, she was a spinner, like me," Rumple told her. "And don't forget my little sister, Rhea."

"Right." Emma continued writing, adding Rumple's parents and then Rhea "Vasilisa" Sparrow, her husband Jack, and her two children. "What are their names?"

"Her son is William, and her daughter is Jessalyn, I believe," Rumple replied.

After she had added the Sparrows to the family tree, she said, "Is that everyone? Or am I missing someone?"

"Well, I do have a half-brother I've never met," Bae said. "Milah's other son, Jimmy Hook, or Jones, or whatever they call him."

"Okay," she added a line and wrote James Hook below Milah and Killian Jones (Captain Hook) next to Milah's name. "Anything else?"

"My grandparents on my dad's side were called Amber and Kyle Shepherd," David said. "Unfortunately, I don't know much more than that, since my family couldn't read and write and we really didn't keep records like that."

"I know Milah's parents were called Sasha and Peregrine Skopos," Rumple said.

"I have a distant relation who's a . . . err . . . highwayman," Belle said. "Name's Flynn Ryder . . . he's a distant cousin on my father's side. And he married a princess named Rapunzel from another kingdom."

"And I have a third cousin on my mother's side named Aurora," said Snow. "She was engaged to marry Prince Phillip before she was put under a sleeping curse by Maleficent." Then she said, "If I had access to my geneology books, I could give you a more detailed summary of how we're all related, but it's too complicated to try and put down here, Emma."

Belle nodded. "My mother had a cousin, Talia, who ran off to live with the elves of Silvanwood. It was a big scandal back in the day, because royal ladies just didn't do that sort of thing, but she did. Broke with every tradition in the book and said to hell with everything and ran off with her elven ranger beloved, Gavin. They called her the Lady of the Silver Bow, because she had a bow made of silverwood that always hit its target . . .I used to want to meet her when I was girl."

"Looks like marrying unconventionally runs in the family," Rumple smirked.

"There's a lot of history to cover," Snow said, yawning. "But what we've got so far will do for tonight. I'm going to bed."

"Same here," David said. "Or else I'll be too tired to go shopping in Chinatown tomorrow."

"Is that what we're doing tomorrow?" Henry asked.

"That and going to FAO Schwartz," said Alina. "Right, Papa?"

"Yes. And we'd all better get some sleep. We don't have to get up too early, but we probably should get started around ten o'clock, right, Bae?"

"Yeah, ten's good," Bae said.

Emma carefully wrapped up the family tree and the frame again and put it in the bag. Then she followed Bae into their suite, just as the Golds and Nolans went into theirs, leaving Alina and Henry to camp out on the couch, where they discussed what things they might see tomorrow until they fell asleep mid-sentence.

Page~*~*~*~*~Break

Belle woke up around six o'clock the next morning, careful to not wake a sleeping Rumple, her stomach felt funny, as it had for the past morning. She made her way out of the bedroom, figuring a cup of tea would settle it, and she had seen a wooden caddy with teabags in it on the kitchenette counter.

As she emerged from the bedroom, shutting the door silently behind her, she saw Henry and Alina asleep on the big couch, and Bae standing in front of the large bay window, dressed in his sweats and Fire Mountain T-shirt, doing some warm-up exercises.

She watched Rumple's eldest for a moment, admiring his grace and control, as he moved from one set of katas to another, reminding her of a lazy panther. Like his father, he had power and poise, and beneath it was a layer of calmness and gentleness that she knew was an intrinsic part of him, like his generous heart. He was, she thought, very much like Rumple, though she assumed he got his looks from his mother.

Smiling, she made her way into the kitchenette, recalling Emma's sudden reunion with her parents the night before, and wondering if perhaps she might find that same sort of closeness with her stepson one day. Not that they didn't get along, for they did, and yet Belle found herself wishing that she could chase away the sorrow that sometimes shown in Bae's dark eyes, as Rumple often lamented that his cowardice had cost Bae his mother. But knowing what she did of the woman, Belle was inclined to think that selfishness, rather than anything Rumple had done, had caused Milah to run off with her pirate lover. Clearly she had valued her own happiness over her family's, a thing which Belle could never imagine doing, since her family meant everything to her.

She carefully put the tea kettle on to boil and was taking a cup out of the cabinet when she heard a throat being cleared behind her.

"Hey, is everything okay?" Bae asked, standing in the doorway. "You know, I can run down to this little teashop downstairs and get you something if you feel sick, Mama. Some tea with ginger works really well for upset stomachs."

Belle nearly dropped the cup on the floor. "Bae! Did you just . . . call me Mama?"

"Uh . . . yeah, I did. I figured it was time to start calling you that, since that's sort of what you are to me. Unless you'd rather I didn't . . .?" he said, looking rather endearing, like an uncertain small boy for a moment.

"No . . . I . . . don't mind at all," Belle said, smiling. "You just . . . startled me, that's all, when you said it," she clutched the mug to her. "I almost dropped this on the floor."

"You mean you were going to chip another cup just for me?" he teased, his mouth curving into a roguish grin. "Gee, thanks!"

"Baelfire!" she chuckled, setting the cup on the counter. She grinned back at him, and then she put a hand to her stomach. "Oh dear . . .! All of a sudden I feel like . . . " Her blue eyes widening in alarm, she suddenly rushed past him to the bathroom.

"Yup. That's what I thought," Bae sighed. "Guess I'd better go down to that little teashop I saw in the lobby and get some ginger tea with honey." Luckily, the teashop happened to open up at five o'clock in the morning, just in case guests at the Plaza wanted tea that early. Or maybe they never closed, since New York was called the city that never sleeps.

He made sure his keycard was in his pocket before putting on his sneakers and going downstairs.

Page~*~*~*~*~*~Break

By the time Bae returned with a small tin of ginger teabags and a jar of honey, as well as some peppermint throat lozenges, he found Belle sitting at the little table, slowly sipping some water while waiting for the kettle to boil. Not being able to find any chamomile tea, she had opted for decaffeinated, and had that in the cup on the counter.

"Bae, I'm so sorry," she began when he came back into the suite.

"For what? You're expecting and I know that happens a lot, I'm not totally clueless," he said. "Look. I found some ginger tea downstairs, you can put some honey in it to sweeten it, this stuff's great for upset stomachs, they use it all the time in Japan. It's all natural, so you don't have to worry about hurting the baby," he showed her the tin with the sachets inside. "Oh, and here's some peppermint throat lozenges, I figured you could suck on them while we were walking around today, I used to before I had a big tournament, sometimes I'd get a case of nerves and make myself sick, and these used to help me a lot."

"Thanks, Bae. That's so thoughtful of you," Belle said.

"No big deal, Mama. I hate to see anybody sick like that," Bae said, coloring faintly.

"Your father's the same way. One time I had a cold and next thing I knew he was bringing me boxes of tissues, orange juice, tea, toast, and a tray with ten different kinds of cold medicine on it, I think he bought out the pharmacy. I just looked at him and I was like, 'Rumple, what is all this?' and he just said he wanted to make me feel better," Belle laughed.

"Yeah, that time I broke my arm when I was a kid, he sat up with me the whole night after it'd been set, just in case I woke up and was in pain, with some poppy tea he'd made, and he wouldn't let me do anything for the first week. I remember I got sort of annoyed, because you know how kids are, but looking back on it, I think it's kind of funny. He can be a real mother hen sometimes." He winked at Belle. "Just don't tell him I said that."

"I won't," Belle said, sharing a secret grin with her son. Then she went to put the ginger tea bag into her cup and turn off the kettle, which was whistling softly.

"You can give me that," Bae said when she was about to put the decaf tea back. "I don't mind. Too much caffeine's not good for you."

They had just sat down at the table to drink their tea when Alina poked her head in the doorway. "What's this? A pajama party?"

"Hey, kid. Mama and I were just having some tea," Bae said. "You're up early."

"I always am," Alina said, and went to get a mug and a tea bag.

"The water's still hot, so be careful," Belle told her.

"I will," her daughter answered, going to pour some into her cup.

Just then they heard a door open, and Rumple's voice call softly, "Belle? Are you okay, sweetheart?"

"See what I mean?" Belle smirked. Then she called, "Rumple, I'm in the kitchen."

Soon Rumple came into the kitchen, looking concerned. "Belle, if you feel sick, I can—oh . . . what's this?"

"It's a pajama party, Papa," Alina informed him. "Want some tea?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You're having a pajama party at six thirty in the morning?"

"So we're a little backwards," Alina shrugged. "Who cares?" She waved him to the table. "Go and sit down, I'm pretending I'm Alice this morning."

Rumple went and sat next to Belle. "You going to cook me bacon and eggs too, dearie?"

Alina brought him his tea, fixed just the way he liked it. "Uh, nope, cause after this I'm taking the day off. For vacation, you know."

Rumple chuckled, and mussed her hair. "I wonder what Alice and Jeff will say when we tell them?"

"Alice won't be too surprised," Belle said. "She kept asking me how I felt before I left, so I think she was expecting this."

"Uncle Jeff's probably clueless. Most men are," Alina said candidly, making herself a cup of tea. "But now Grace and I can babysit together! With Henry."

"I really hope this kid's a boy. Otherwise poor Henry's going to be outnumbered three to one," Bae laughed.

"Four to one, if you're counting Regina," Alina reminded him, and they all laughed.

Page~*~*~*~*~Break

By eleven the whole family had taken the subway down to Chinatown and was walking through the streets, looking at all the little shops, and smelling the incense and eggrolls and fried wontons some of the vendors were selling on the corner. Colorful signs in Chinese were displayed in every window and almost all the places they passed sold shoes, handbags, watches, and scarves in different colors along with various other items. Many vendors came out of their shops and implored pedestrians to see their great sales and so forth, competing with their neighbors just down the block.

All of the Golds, save for Rumple, were wearing their Hard Rock T-shirts for this outing, which Henry said made them look like either a rock band or a tour group. Regina stopped to pet a little pug sitting in the doorway of a shop, and the owner came out and said she had a dress perfect for the little girl.

"Mommy, can we go see?" Regina asked, after getting licked thoroughly by the pug.

"Um . . . well . . ." Snow considered.

"I have a very good sale going on. Show you the best merchandise in my back room," the owner told her, smiling.

Snow looked over at Emma. "Shall we?"

"If she's showing us the back room, it's probably good," Emma said.

"Yeah, Papa keeps the best stuff in the back room in his shop," Alina added.

Snow rushed inside with Regina, followed by the rest of the women.

David looked at Rumple and said, "They're like a herd or something."

"Dearie, if there's one thing I've learned, it's never get between a woman and serious shopping," Rumple said, leaning against the wall. "Otherwise you're asking to get knocked down and trampled."

"Yeah, you've never been to a sale at Walmart in Phoenix," Bae said. "All the women line up with their carts before the doors even open and once they do it's like a horse race, they're off and it's like get out the way, bitch, get out the way, because I'm getting to those freaking Chips Ahoy before you do and I don't care if I mow down Grandma. They're like . . . animals."

"Really?" David said.

"Oh, yeah. Trust me," Bae nodded.

"Cool! Dad, look at this dragon," Henry called from a table outside the shop next to the ones the girls were in. "It says it's made from ancient marble!"

"Let me see that," Bae said, walking over to where his son was and picking up the little figurine. "For five bucks? Henry, this ancient marble was probably quarried right here in Brooklyn, right after Sandy came through."

"You mean, it's a fake?"

"Probably, but it's not bad for five bucks. Want one?"

"Nah. I'll wait and see if I can find one that's real jade or something," Henry said.

"I can help you with that. I know what real jade looks like," Bae told him. He put an arm around his son and they walked back to where Gold and Charming were standing.

Fifteen minutes went by, and Henry looked at more displays in the shop windows and then asked, "What are they doing in there, buying the whole store?"

Just then Snow came out with two bags, and Regina holding a stuffed panda, and Emma, Belle, and Alina were all holding scarves and purses.

"Did you get a good deal, dearies?" Gold drawled.

"Oh, you wouldn't believe it!" Snow cried excitedly. "Regina got this costume of a princess for like fifteen dollars and then she showed us all silk scarves and they were ten dollars each so we all got one and then she had these Fendi purses . . ."

"That just happened to be marked down because of water damage, right?" Rumple asked.

"How'd you know?" Snow gasped.

Rumple smirked. "Oldest trick in the book, dearie. Let me see that," he indicated her shiny new Fendi purse.

"Here. Isn't it gorgeous?" Snow said, bubbling over with her good fortune.

Rumple examined it closely for a few minutes, then said, "It's gorgeous, dearie. For a knock-off." He handed it back to Snow.

"What? What do you mean?"

"That's not a real Fendi, dearie. It's well made, but no Fendi, even a used one, goes for fifty dollars," Rumple explained. "Look at the stitching . . . you can see here it was done rather hastily . . . and Fendi has double whipstitched interiors and hand stamped logos."

Snow gaped at him. "You mean . . ."

"We were had," Emma frowned.

"In a manner of speaking," Rumple said. "Did she actually say these were Fendi?"

"Uh . . . she said they were like it," Belle said.

"And she sold you a remarkably good knock-off for a pretty good price. That's perfectly legal. Let me see that scarf, Alina." He took the scarf from his daughter and ran it through his hands. "This too. This isn't pure silk . . . half maybe, and half something else . . . rayon maybe . . ."

"How do you know all this?" Emma asked.

"Because I used to make clothes, dearie. Here, you can feel the difference. Touch my Ferragamo, Emma." He held out his tie for her to feel, having it inside of a pocket of his coat.

She did, and then felt the pretty magenta scarf she had, frowning. "You're right. Damn! I should've known better."

"Don't feel bad, Mom. I almost bought a dragon made in Brooklyn," Henry said.

"Next time, I'm taking him with me," Snow said. Then she brightened. "But we had fun, didn't we?"

"Uh huh. Unca Rumple, lookit my panda bear," Regina said, shoving the bear at him.

"Well, isn't he lovely?" Rumple said. "Very nice, dearie. Now Sofia has a friend."

"Yup!" Regina said, then she skipped over to David. "Daddy, see my princess costume?" She showed him the bag with it inside. "I'm gonna be Snow White for Halloween!"

David looked like he was about to fall over. "You're going to what?"

Alina and Henry suddenly clamped their hands over their mouths, giggling hysterically.

"Snow White, Daddy. You know, like the movie with the seven dwarfs," his daughter told him. "And the prince on the white horse."

Bae nudged him, smirking. "Yeah, David. You know . . . right?"

"Of course I do," David said, recovering himself. He gave Bae a Look. "And I'm sure you'll beautiful in it, Regina."

Alina had her face buried in her scarf, and Henry was leaning against a doorway, gasping. "She . . . wants to be . . . Snow White!"

"That's so . . . ironic," Alina whispered, then started laughing again.

"What's so funny?" Regina asked, staring at the two other children.

"Nothing, honey," David said. "They just think you're cute. Right?"

"Yup. Adorable," Henry said, and gave Regina a brilliant smile.

"What're you gonna be, Henry?" she asked.

"Uh . . . I'm gonna be . . . a sorcerer's apprentice. Grandpa already gave me my costume," he told her, referring to the set of clothes and boots Rumple had given him that used to belong to Baelfire as a child.

"Cool!" Regina shrieked, and spun around, saying, "I'm hungry! Let's get some Cinnabons!"

"How about some egg rolls?" Snow suggested, feeling incredibly happy that her daughter, the former Evil Queen, now wanted to be her—or a version of her—for Halloween. "They smell heavenly."

"Yeah! And then I want an ice pop!"

"Lunch first, Regina," her mother said firmly.

"I'll get it," Gold said, and handed her a few bills.

So they all feasted on egg rolls, wontons, and house special fried rice, along with fruit infused water and ate fried red bean cakes and popsicles for dessert. The food was wonderful, tasty and hot, and they all had fun trying out the different dipping sauces and exclaiming over the variety of flavors, from sweet to spicy.

Bae led them over to the Asian market, and they spent a few hours happily shopping there, and he spoke Japanese with a few vendors, bargaining with them for candy and buying a real jade statue of a dragon for Henry the size of his hand, and an owl and a puppy for Alina and Regina.

"You know, you're really good at this kind of thing," Emma said to her husband.

"I learned from the best," he jerked his head over at Rumple.

They meandered all over the market, finally finding a shop that looked rather upscale and Rumple asked Bae something, nodded, and went inside.

He emerged in about ten minutes, carrying four bags and Belle looked at him and said, "Rumple? You going shopping too?"

"Here, sweetheart. This one's a real Fendi," he handed her a bag. Then he handed a bag to Emma, Snow, and Alina.

"How 'bout me?" Regina asked, feeling left out.

"I didn't forget you, imp," her uncle said, and reached into a pocket and pulled out a small Fendi wallet and handed it to her.

"Thanks!" Regina said, hugging it to her.

The other women all thanked him as well, finding a Fendi purse in a different shade in their bags.

"My God, this must have cost you a mint!" Snow said.

"Not really," Gold said modestly.

"Yeah, they know better than to try and gouge the master," Bae said.

"Are we all set, or do you want to shop some more, ladies?" asked David.

"No, we're good," Snow answered. "Next stop, Macy's."

"And FAO Schwartz," Henry reminded her.

"What's that, Henry?" Regina asked.

"It's like the biggest toy store in Manhattan," he answered.

"Yeah! The toy store!" the little girl cheered. Then she grabbed Henry and Rumple's hands and began pulling them down the street, crying, "C'mon, guys! Before all the toys are gone!"

A/N: Okay . . . FAO Schwartz here we come! Regina's gonna drive poor Rumple insane! Just a note-the book Bae read to Regina is an actual children's book called Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel and Rumple's story is of course, Snow White and Rose Red by the brothers Grimm.