10

Golden Moments

Rumple was less than enthusiastic about entering the hallowed halls of FAO Schwartz, but because he'd promised Regina a toy, he had to keep his deal and so he allowed himself to be dragged down the street by the enthusiastic toddler, who was also towing Henry along in her wake. Rumple silently thanked God that Alina had healed his leg, otherwise he would have been in agony. As it was, he could easily keep pace with Regina, who seemed to have more energy now than the Energizer Bunny on steroids.

Just before they reached FAO Schwartz, Snow pulled Belle and Emma aside and discussed something with them. Abruptly, the women all called a halt and Emma said, "Uh . . . guys, there's a slight . . . change of plans here. Snow and I want to take Belle into Macys and shop for a little something for the baby."

"Yeah, like some cute outfits and stuff," Snow said.

"I want to help pick some out!" Alina said.

"Yeah, she's good at that," Bae said, recalling how she had picked out an entire wardrobe for him last time they had gone to the department store with Belle in Storybrooke.

"Okay, so . . . we'll all go and do that while you guys take Regina into FAO Schwartz," said Belle.

"Yeah, we need to go there like now!" Regina called, tugging Rumple's hand.

"Hold it, little Miss Bossypants," he ordered. "Now, I want you to promise me that you'll stay by me at all times . . . no wandering off, am I clear?"

"Uh huh," she nodded eagerly.

"I heard there's like this huge candy store in there," Henry declared. "And they just opened up this rollercoaster in there too . . . and some kind of video game stuff . . ."

Rumple rolled his eyes. "Just what we need. Candy and video games."

"Okay . . . so we'll meet back here at . . ." Snow looked at her watch. " . . . say four thirty? That'll give us about three hours or so. Sound good?"

"It's fine, Mary Margaret," David said. "You girls have fun now."

They waved as the guys plus Regina continued on down the sidewalk and into the 58th street entrance.

FAO Schwartz had been founded in 1862 by immigrant Frederick August Otto Schwartz and the Fifth Avenue store was the flagship store of the chain, and it was now owned by Toys R'Us. It was home to the largest selection of stuffed toys, including the German Steiff brand, and all sorts of new interactive displays, including the Muppet Whatnot Workshop and the Style by Me Barbie workshop, Madam Alexander Doll Factory, and Middleton Newborn Nursery, where you could design and customize your own dolls. It also featured the BIG Piano Play Mat, and an FAO Café with several exclusive New York eateries. There was also one of a kind luxury items, like a $1500 Jeweled Etch-A-Sketch and a Barbie Foosball table that cost $25,000 by Bonzini.

"Don't get any ideas about buying them," Gold warned as they crossed into the store.

The Grand Entrance Hall was a huge affair with over 80,000 LED lights and they all began whirling and playing music like some kind of crazed disco.

Regina was delighted, skipping and twirling like a dervish, and even Henry thought it was cool. Gold was getting a headache, and hurried through that part as quickly as possible.

As soon as they were inside the store, Regina ran back and grabbed Rumple's hand. "C'mon, Unca Rumple! I wanna see all the stuffed animals!"

"Dad, can I go into the candy store?" Henry begged.

"Yeah, okay," Bae said. "Papa, you and David go with Regina and we'll catch up later," he said, and he and Henry headed over to FAO Scweetz, where it looked like every kind of candy imaginable was being sold and there was a huge sign that said "Make Your Own Candy".

Rumple found himself surrounded by life-sized stuffed animals, like a growling tiger, a giraffe, a crocodile, a gorilla, and a Shetland pony. There were shelves higher than his head full of stuffed animals of every description, and Regina spent ten minutes looking at all the varieties and pulling down several for him to inspect.

"I like this one," she'd say. "And this one. How 'bout this one?"

By the time he'd seen several dogs, five different cats, a cheetah, an elephant, a camel, and a kinkajou, Rumple's head was whirling.

"This place is incredible!" David said. "You know, I smell coffee. Why don't I run over and get a cup while you watch her? You want some?"

"Sure. Just don't . . . take too long," Rumple said.

David headed off for the Café, whistling as he did so and staring at all the toys and displays. Kids were running everywhere, shouting, laughing, shrieking. Harried parents were running after them, with shopping carts and baskets on their arms.

"Unca Rumple, do y'like this monkey?" Regina asked, shoving an orangutan in his face.

"Tell you what, Regina," he began. "I'm going to sit over here and you're going to bring me these animals one at a time and show me them. That way you can have them all in a row and pick one." He found a long bench in the middle of this . . . stuffed animal haven and sat down, congratulating himself on his cleverness.

Regina handed him the orangutan and he set it beside him. Then she ran back to a shelf and got a black panther and brought it to him. "Look! A big Nala!"

"Yes, that's lovely, dearie," Rumple said, and put the panther on his other side.

The little girl ran back and forth, putting an entire jungle of all kinds of animals, some made by Gund, others by Steiff, alongside Rumple. At least that's what she started out doing.

By the time David returned with the coffee, carrying two cups in Styrofoam containers, he saw Regina running up to a mountain of stuffed animals, and putting a green parrot down next to a white tiger, a purple unicorn, and a blue macaw. The former prince frowned, wondering where the hell Rumplestiltskin was . . . and then he saw the former Dark One . . . or rather his head, surrounded by dozens and dozens of stuffed animals, some were beside him, some were in front of him, and some were on top of him. It looked as though a zoo had exploded in his vicinity . . . and fallen right on him.

David halted, nearly dropping the coffee all over the floor. "Rumple, what the—?" he began, his eyes widening in amazement.

"Regina, enough! I'm being smothered!" Rumple cried, trying to fight his way free of the mound of creatures.

Regina halted, dragging a giraffe almost as tall as she was behind her. "Lookit this giraffe!" she yelled.

"No! You have a whole . . . jungle here!" Rumple told her, feeling like an extra in The Lion King. Suddenly what had seemed such a good idea was turning into a nightmare.

David's shoulders quivered. He knew he should go and help the other man, but the sight was too hilarious to resist. He pulled out his cell and snapped a picture. Rumple Does an Imitation of ET.

As he was stuffing the phone back in his pocket and picking up the coffee beside his feet, Rumple spotted him.

"Hey! Don't just stand there, David. Help me out here!"

"Why? You look . . . really cute there," David smirked.

"Nolan! For the love of God!" the sorcerer sputtered.

"Okay. Okay. Regina, love, I think Uncle Rumple's got enough there, so just pick one of them."

Regina halted, then looked at David and said, "But Daddy . . . I likes them all!"

"Well, you can't have them all . . . so pick one," her father instructed.

Regina looked at the myriad stuffed army surrounding Rumple then said, "Daddy, I want the big Nala." She pointed to the shelf with the black panthers on it.

"Okay. I'll get you that," David agreed, and picked one up off the shelf. "Now let's put the rest of these back and free poor Uncle Rumple."

Seven minutes later, Rumple and David were being pulled along as Regina led them down an aisle towards the huge display of Barbie items and a large corner that seemed devoted to child-sized tables, chairs, and tea sets.

The two men followed, sipping their coffee, and watching the energetic minx explore the different tables with the tea sets on them, some of which were made of sturdy resin and others of fine bone china. One had gold leaf rims and a matching picnic basket.

David watched proudly as Regina started to set a table, saying, "Look, she's only three and she knows where everything goes."

"That's Snow and Belle's influence," Rumple said. "They taught her proper etiquette for high tea . . . the way the royals do it in their palaces."

"I never really had to learn that," David admitted. "I was too busy learning other things . . . like how to slay dragons and ogres and stuff."

"Belle taught me a little when she was in my castle," Rumple admitted. "But just a wee bit."

As the two men watched Regina arranging the table, in a different part of the store, Bae and Henry were playing video games in the interactive arcade. Henry was playing a game called Dragonslayer, and Bae was playing one that reminded him of the old Atari Space Invaders.

After Henry had died multiple times and run out of quarters, he tugged on Bae's jacket. "Dad? Hey, Dad! You want to go on the rollercoaster now? There's not a huge line like there was ten minutes ago."

"Hold on, tiger. Let me beat this level," Bae said, working the controller like mad and blowing up several aliens.

"Dad, you said that ten minutes ago."

"That was when I thought I was dying. But now I got this energy level boost and I blew up the space station and got four bonus levels," his father answered. "I'm almost to the mother ship, Henry. Give me a minute."

Henry sighed and waited another five minutes. "Dad . . ."

Bae held up a hand. "Now now, Henry! Go ask your grandfathers."

"Dad, Grandpa would never go on a rollercoaster," Henry gasped, trying to picture Rumple in one of the small cars going down a hill at fifty-five miles an hour.

"Then ask your other one," Bae replied. He fired rapidly and blew up an invading flagship. "Yeah! Gotcha! Now it's time to kick your interstellar alien ass!"

Henry watched his parent for a few more moments, thinking that his father was starting to obsess about this Invasion Earth 6.0 game, and then said, "Okay, I'll go ask Gramps."

"Call him on my cell and ask where they are first," Bae said.

Henry pulled Bae's phone out of the pocket of his jacket and dialed David. "Hey, Gramps. It's Henry. Where are you guys? By the tea set and the Barbies? Okay. Be there in a few."

After telling Bae where he was going, Henry gave him the phone back and raced over to where his grandfathers were with Regina.

"Gramps, Dad told me to ask you if you wanted to come on the rollercoaster with me," Henry said to David. "He's still trying to beat the Invasion Earth game, and right now there's no line, so . . . want to try it? It's not really that fast."

David stared down at Henry, thinking he really needed to spend more time with the kid, and then he tossed his empty coffee cup in the trash and said, "Rumple, you mind if I go on this rollercoaster with Henry? We'll only be a few minutes. Or would you rather do it?"

Rumple looked at him as though he'd lost his marbles. "Are you kidding? Me, on one of those . . . contraptions? No thanks! You go ride it . . . I'll stay here and watch Regina serve tea to all the dollies."

"All right! Let's go!" Henry said, and dragged David away towards the newest attraction, a real live rollercoaster in the middle of the ground floor of the store.

Rumple was congratulating himself on getting the easy duty when Regina suddenly rushed up to him. "Unca Rumple, where's Daddy?"

"He . . . uh . . . went with Henry to ride that crazy rollercoaster," Rumple replied.

"Oh. I wanted him to come to my tea party," she said, looking crestfallen.

"Um . . . well . . . I guess I can come," he allowed, not liking to see her unhappy.

"Good!" she grabbed his hand and tugged him over to the table. "Okay . . . now you sit here and I'll get you some tea," she instructed, pointing to a small pink chair.

"Regina . . . I'm too big to sit on that," he began.

"No, you're not. See . . . that big lady's sitting on one with her little girl," the little girl pointed to a rather large woman in a blue dress sitting with her little girl at another table.

"Don't point," Gold reprimanded. "It's rude." He glanced at the other parent. "All right," he sighed, thinking what's wrong with me? I never was such a pushover, well maybe a little, when Alina was little . . . He clicked his cufflinks together and muttered a quick spell over the petite chair, just in case it decided to cave in when he sat on it.

Then he sat down at the table, thinking it was good that David wasn't here to see this . . . then again, if Charming were here, Rumple wouldn't be stuck playing tea party with a toddler . . .

Regina clapped her hands, looked at her uncle, then said, "Wait . . . I needs to get something first . . ." She ran over to a stand where there were some large pastel hats with floppy brims with rosebuds, birds, and flowers on them and snatched one off the stand.

She carried the . . . monstrosity back to where Rumple was sitting and said, "You need to wear this. 'Cause all ladies wear hats when they come to tea. Mommy said so."

"You wear it," Rumple said, thinking he wouldn't be caught dead wearing that horrendous thing. It looked like an insane millner had tried to design a wedding cake on a hat brim.

"No!" Regina cried. "I'm gonna wear the pink one, and you need to wear this one."

"Regina, there's no way I'm wearing that . . . thing . . ." Rumple began sternly.

She fastened a woebegone look at him, her dark eyes pleading. "Please? With sugar an' cherries on top? Please?"

Rumple groaned. Those eyes. They tugged relentlessly at his heartstrings, despite all his attempts to ignore them. "Okay. But just for a minute." He took the horrid creation—whoever invented this thing ought to have been fired—and stuck it on his head, where it immediately drooped over one eye.

Regina then grabbed a second hat and put it on her head, and tossed a feather boa over her shoulder. "Now, this is how you pour the tea . . ." she said, sounding very much like Snow when she lectured her class.

There is something seriously wrong with me, Rumple thought, counting off seconds in his head while Regina merrily chattered to him about the right way to hold a teacup and served him fake plastic sandwiches and cakes.

Henry and David had ridden the rollercoaster three times in a row before David said he would upchuck if he went on it again, so the two made their way back to where Rumple and Regina were by the tea sets. As Henry came over, he caught sight of Rumple . . . sitting at the child-sized table, on a pink chair, wearing . . . a hat with birds, roses, and ribbons on it, colored a pastel lavender shade, holding a pale yellow china cup in his hand, pretending to sip it, while Regina sat across from him with an identical cup and a blue hat on her head, nibbling on a fake Queen's cake.

"Uh . . . Gramps? Tell me I'm not . . . seeing things," he whispered to David.

"What do you mean?" David asked, then he followed where Henry was pointing. And he almost died laughing. "Oh my God! I have got to take a picture of this. The notorious Dark One . . . playing tea party wearing . . . that hat."

He pulled out his cell and snapped a picture. Then he took another one for good measure. The Art of High Tea With Rumplstiltskin. Dress To Impress!

Henry smirked. "That's great. Let's just . . . wait here and see what else happens."

David nodded. They hid behind a pillar and watched as Regina dragged the former Dark One through Barbie Plaza . . . after he'd ditched the hat on the table . . . thanking his lucky stars no one had seen him in that ridiculous get-up . . .

Where in hell are you, Nolan? He thought irritably as Regina raced down an aisle crammed full of Barbies. How long does it take for you to ride a blasted rollercoaster?

"Unca Rumple!" shrilled the toddler. "I see Cinderella!" She pointed to a shelf high above her, where there were replicas of Disney's Cinderella (who looked nothing like Ashley Boyd) and a pumpkin coach with two white horses.

"That's nice, dearie," he muttered, thinking that half these dolls looked like they'd gone through stage one of anorexia . . . or the Starving Times in his village when he was six and the crops had all failed . . . and who the hell made the clothes for these dolls anyway . . . that one had half her . . . breasts showing and if that skirt were any shorter . . . what the hell were they trying to market here . . . fashions for tavern wenches? Look, boys and girls, it's Ho-Bag Barbie, complete with fishnet stockings, high heels and a call book. "Yeah, like I'd ever let my little girl play with one of these . . ." he muttered.

He looked around for Regina, not seeing her dark head bobbing along ahead of him. "Regina? Where are you, dearie?"

"I'm up here, Unca Rumple!"

Rumple looked up . . . and saw to his horror, Regina perched precariously on a shelf about eight feet above the ground, reaching for the damn Cinderella Barbie. "Regina! What do you think you're doing?" he gasped.

"Gettin' Cinderella," she called down at him, her small hand closing over the box.

"You come down from there right this instant!" he snapped, wondering how in hell she'd climbed up there in the first place. The kid was like a spider monkey. Either that or part cat.

"But Unca Rumple, I need to get this . . .!" she cried, tugging on the topmost doll.

"Regina Nolan, I swear . . .!" he growled, then he noticed the Cinderella doll starting to tumble off the shelf . . . along with several other dolls . . . Dammit, they're all going to fall unless I do something . . .

"Unca Rumple!" Regina wailed, feeling her sneaker begin to slip off the shelf as the Cinderella doll began to tumble off the top shelf, starting a domino effect . . .

"No!" Rumple yelped, slamming his cufflinks together.

Purple magic flared from his hands . . . arresting the falling avalanche of boxes and wrapping securely around Regina.

Panting slightly, he climbed up the shelf and grabbed the toddler in a frantic embrace. Then he snapped his fingers quickly, restoring the Barbies to their shelf before anyone happened to see the purple mist and inquire about it.

"Phew!" Henry whispered. "That was close!" He wiped an imaginary sweat bead from his brow and counted it lucky that David hadn't been there to see that, but had gone to use the men's room. Henry snapped a picture with David's cell and labeled it Rumple Saves Regina From Barbie Avalanche.

"Don't you ever do something like that again, you hear me?" an angry Rumple scolded his charge.

Regina's lower lip trembled. "Sorry! I just wanted to see Cinderella."

"You could have fallen and broken your neck!" Rumple continued.

"But you saved me!" the little girl pointed out.

"Next time you keep your feet on the ground where they belong," he remonstrated.

"Okay. Put me down," she said, and he set her down.

"You stay—Regina!" he shouted, as the little girl suddenly bolted up the aisle to where they had a Barbie dream house on display . . . with all the furniture inside it.

"Ooo! I want one of these!" she cried, and began to play with the furniture.

"Put it on your list for Christmas," Gold said shortly, as he slid to a stop beside her. Hmm . . . maybe it wasn't such a bad idea for a gift . . . at least it would keep her occupied and out of trouble.

He slowly felt his heart return to normal as she played with the furniture in the house, then he checked his watch and wondered where the hell David was. He had agreed to watch Regina for awhile, not the whole damn time! Really, this was getting to be ridiculous!

"Unca Rumple . . . I can't get the chair to fit in the kitchen," Regina whined.

"Maybe you're only supposed to have two chairs in there," he replied.

"Nuh uh. See, on the box it's got three," she pointed to it.

Sure enough, the box did show three chairs.

"Hmm . . . let me see," he said, kneeling down to inspect the kitchen. "This table's too big, no wonder why the chair doesn't fit in here," he muttered. "Honestly, who designs these things?" He pulled out the white table and replaced it with a smaller brown one. "There!"

"Now the chair doesn't match," she pointed out maddeningly.

"Okay . . . so we'll just . . . put this chair over here . . ." he began to rearrange the furniture, muttering to himself about the design quality. "Who puts polka dots on their couches with a striped zebra patterned rug? What are they, blind?"

Henry bit his lip to keep from laughing out loud as he watched.

"Hey, tiger, what's going on?"

"Shh, Dad! You gotta see this! Grandpa's playing with Regina!" Henry pointed to where Regina and Rumple were rearranging the furniture, and arguing about what went where.

"I don't believe this!" Bae gasped.

"Yeah, it's better than watching House Beautiful!" Henry snickered, then he snapped a picture. Home Decorating with Rumplestiltskin . . . What Every Child Needs to Know About Colors, Styles, Fabrics.

"Where's David?" asked Bae.

"He went to the bathroom. He drank too much coffee," Henry whispered. "Quick, they're going down the costume aisle. Let's follow them!"

Father and son crept after the little girl in the hot pink shirt and her uncle, making sure to stay hidden behind the end of a display of Barbie Corvettes.

"Regina, how about you pick out some shoes to go with your princess costume?" Rumple suggested.

Regina paused to look at the shoes, but then she spied something else. "Ooh! A sparkly wand! And fairy wings!" Quick as a blink, she grabbed a wand from the display and a pair of pink wings. "I'm a fairy godmother!" she cried, shoving her arms through the holes and waving around the wand.

It lit up and made realistic "magical" sounds as she waved it.

Then she put on a sparkly "diamond" tiara.

"You want that for your surprise, dearie?" Rumple asked.

She cocked her head at him. "Do you like this one?" she asked, running over to him.

"It's very nice," he said, kneeling down to see the wings and the tiara better.

"Here. Hold this, Unca Rumple," she said, shoving the pink wand at him. "I wanna see what the purple one does."

She raced over to the rack of wands and pulled down a purple wand, as well as a different colored tiara and a pair of butterfly wings. "Help me put this on, Unca Rumple."

"Wait, first we have to take this off," he began.

She tugged off the tiara and put it on his head.

"Regina! What are you doing?" he sputtered.

"Playing dress up," she replied, putting on the new tiara. Then she took off the wings and shoved the string over Rumple's head, "Here. I'm Tink and you're . . . uh . . . Vidia . . . or you can be Silvermist . . ."

"Whoa!" Rumple held out a hand. "I'm not going to be any fairy, dearie! No way! They're nothing but trouble . . . and their magic totally sucks . . ." he shook the wand pointedly and it lit up and sparkled.

Regina shook hers and it lit up too. "Make a wish!" she chanted.

"I wish your father would come back," he muttered.

Regina giggled and twirled around, the fake wand ringing and glowing. Then she bolted down the aisle, singing, "If you believe in fairies, clap your hands three times!"

"Hey! Come back here! Where do you think you're going?" Rumple cried, and then he stood up and dashed off after her, forgetting completely about the tiara on his head and the wings hanging down his back, the glowing pink wand still clutched in his hand. "Regina! This isn't funny!"

"Oh my God! Yes, it is!" Henry said, laughing so hard he almost choked.

Bae was laughing too as the frustrated Rumple darted down the aisle, the glittery pink wings flapping behind him. He quickly snapped another picture with his phone. Fairy Couture With Mr. Gold.

"Excuse me," Rumple paused as he passed an elderly lady. "Did you see a little girl about three with dark hair run by? She was wearing . . . a fairy costume . . ."

"I think she went down there," the old lady pointed.

"Thanks!" Rumple said, and rushed off in the direction she pointed.

"Hey, sonny! Y'know . . . your wings are crooked!" she shouted after him.

Rumple blushed and muttered, "Frigging fairies!" under his breath, but he didn't dare stop to pull off the wings, lest he lose Regina.

He jogged down the aisle filled with Easy Bake Ovens and play food, the tiara askew on his head and the wand blinking and humming in his hand. "Regina Nolan, you come here right now!"

Suddenly, Regina's head popped out from the other end of the aisle. "Bibbity Boppity Boo!" she yelled, waving her wand at him.

"Hey!" he yelled, waving his own wand as he sprinted after her.

Giggling, she ducked out of view, running across the way towards some bookshelves and a table which bore a sign saying Start Your Child on the Road to Success With Your Own Personal Library!

"Alla-kazam!" Regina shouted, turning and waving her wand at him, making it glimmer and sparkle. "Salagadoo a mechinka doo! I got you!" Then she darted off again.

"Regina!" he snapped, charging down the aisle. "I'll bippety boppety boo you! Get over here!"

He was so intent upon catching up to her that he forgot about the wand in his hand and as he rushed past a mother and her little boy standing in the aisle, the little boy stared after him. "Mommy? Why's that man dressed like a fairy?"

"Uh . . . I'm not sure, dear . . ." she said, goggling after him.

"He's got pink wings on, Mom! Does that mean he's . . . like gay?"

"Shh! Johnnie, you might hurt his feelings!" the mother hissed, clamping a hand over her son's mouth.

Henry and Bae were nearly prostrate with laughter.

Rumple reached the end of the aisle and looked around. "Regina! If you don't stop this nonsense right now, young lady . . ." he peered around the bookshelf.

No Regina.

Then he got down on his hands and knees and half crawled under the table.

"Unca Rumple? Whatcha doin'?"

Rumple tried to turn around and back up at the same time, forgetting about the wings and bashing his head on the table. "Regina! Oww!" Rubbing his head, he half-crawled out from under the table, scowling at the little girl, who was standing there looking at him with an angelic expression on her small face.

"Why're you under the table, Unca Rumple?"

"I was looking for you!" he growled. "You know you're not supposed to run off like that—"

"But we were playin' fairy godmothers," she interrupted.

"I was not!" he objected, just as a teenager in an Izod shirt and designer jeans passed them.

"Hey, mister! Your tiara's crooked!" the boy cried, and then burst out laughing.

Flushing, Rumple yanked the tiara off his head and came out from under the table. He pulled off the pink wings and tossed them, the wand, and the tiara onto the table. "Young lady, I am done chasing you all over creation," he began in a deadly soft voice that spelled doom for anyone he directed it at. "Put that wand down right now and come here."

"No!" the little girl stormed, suddenly turning mule stubborn. "I ain't done playin' with it."

"Excuse me?" Rumple now accompanied the Voice with one of his famous Looks that could strike fear into the most wayward defiant apprentice.

"I said no!" the toddler snapped. It had been a rather long day and suddenly it was catching up with her and she was cranky and out of sorts. "You're not the boss of me!"

Rumple struggled to control his rising temper. There were times when he almost admired Regina's pluckiness and daring and other times (like now) when it was getting on his last nerve. "Regina Nolan, do not even go there," he ordered. "I'm not in the mood for any of your sass. Put that wand down and come here . . . we're going to find your father and go home."

His head was beginning to throb and once he found Charming he was going to give the man a piece of his mind . . .

Regina stubbornly clutched the wand in her hand. "No! You promised me a toy! An' I want this one!"

Rumple felt his headache spike. "Absolutely not. After making me chase you all over, you're not getting anything from me. You promised to behave and you just broke our deal."

"Did not! You're mean!" she cried, stamping her foot on the floor.

He took two steps forward, his hand reaching out towards her, his eyes colder than winter ice. She rarely pushed his buttons like this, mostly because he could remain calm and collected, but this bratty behavior was quickly causing the last shreds of his patience to evaporate. "Give me that—"

Regina stepped back and batted his hand away with the wand, crying, "No! Lemme alone!" Then she spun and bolted, the wand clutched in her fist, shedding sparkles and ringing like a demented doorbell.

Henry and Bae came around the corner just in time to see Regina whack Rumple's hand with her wand and then take off. "Why, that little brat!" Bae muttered, forgetting about his father's healed leg, he started forward, intending to help out.

"Uh oh," his son muttered, because not even Regina was permitted to get away with raising a hand to an adult, especially not to his grandfather.

Bae nearly collided with Rumple, skidding to a stop just as his father spun about. "Papa, I'll head her off," he started to say.

"No. You stay here, just in case she doubles back. I'll deal with her," Rumple said shortly.

"Okay, Papa. Just don't . . . kill her," Bae said.

"Don't be ridiculous," Rumple snorted. "You know perfectly well I don't kill children."

Then he sprinted down the aisle and around the corner.

Regina was running as fast as she could through the section of toy trains and cars, the forbidden wand clutched in her fist. She had to find her daddy, since Unca Rumple was mean and wouldn't buy her what he'd promised, she'd get Daddy to buy her the wand instead.

Suddenly, she crashed right into a pair of legs.

Stumbling backwards, she glanced up . . .

. . .into a very familiar face, as Rumple glared down at her, his eyes glinting with disapproval and anger.

Before she could scurry out of reach, he grabbed her up off the floor. "Little girls who behave like spoiled brats don't get any toys," he scolded, and pried the wand from her small hand and set it on a shelf.

Regina burst into angry sobs, screaming and howling, and struggling to get away. "No-o-o-o! My wa-a-a-nd!"

Rumple simply tossed the angry child over his shoulder, ignoring the banshee wails and the small fists that pounded his shoulder. He strode down the aisle, searching for someplace quiet, away from the stares of shoppers and other children, so he could implement a much needed lesson.

At last he saw what he was looking for, a small alcove near a handicapped restroom which boasted a very nice leather padded bench.

He walked swiftly to it, gritting his teeth at Regina's shrieks, and sat down, quickly bringing his cufflinks together as he did so. With a thought he created an impenetrable bubble about himself and his disobedient niece, one that made them unable to be seen or heard for a several minutes.

That done, he took the screeching toddler and sat her in his lap, counting to ten twice, giving both of them a chance to calm down before saying, "You are in serious trouble, Miss Nolan. Not only did you run away from me and break your promise, you kicked me and hit me and behaved like a spoiled rotten brat. And this is all such terrible behavior gets you."

"No!" the little imp wailed. "I sorry, Unca Rumple!"

Rumple felt his heart twinge sharply, but he knew better than to let such behavior slide. So am I, he thought, then he resolutely placed her over his knee, and gave her four stinging smacks, one for each year of her age, and one for remembrance.

The now repentant toddler bawled loudly and kicked her feet, but he held her firmly until the spanking was finished, and then he set her down and pointed to the corner near the wall. "Now go stand in the corner and think about what you've done."

Still sobbing, Regina obeyed, one hand reaching back to rub her stinging bottom, remorse and anger warring within her. A part of her knew she'd been dreadfully naughty, but another part of her was angry with her beloved uncle for punishing her, so she pouted and sulked and cried the entire five minutes she stood there.

Rumple just sat there on the bench, his head in his hands, wondering if he'd spanked her too hard, though he knew perfectly well he hadn't, but he hated making her cry, even if it had been necessary.

Finally, he called, "Regina, come here, dearie."

The little girl turned around and sniffled, "M'sorry!"

"I know. Now don't make me do that again, y'hear?" Then he picked her up and held her, patting her back and whispering, "There, there, little imp!"

Regina snuggled into his shoulder, crying softly for a few more moments before she asked, "Unca Rumple, do you still love me?"

"What? Regina, of course I do," he answered, flabbergasted.

"Even when I'm bad?" she asked.

"Even then. I might not love what you do, but I will always love you, baby girl."

"Forever n' ever?"

"Yes. Until the stars crumble to dust," he said, and then he hugged her close, banishing his conjured bubble with a flick of his hand.

Regina snuggled into his arms, exhausted from the long day and all of her recent shenanigans, putting her head down on Rumple's shoulder and closing her eyes. Within moments, she was asleep.

Rumple tucked her head against him, finding that he too was sleepy, and leaned his head back against the wall. He'd just close his eyes . . . just for a bit . . . and rest before he went and found the others.

Page~*~*~*~*~Break

"I think he went down this way," Bae said to David, and pointed down the row of toys. "Where were you?"

"Uh . . . I was kind of hungry, so I stopped to get something over at the bakery," Charming said, sounding slightly guilty as they walked quickly down the aisle "And then I went to look for you in that video game place and I . . . err . . . started to play that race car game and I . . . lost track of time until I died . . . now where the heck could they be?"

"There they are!" Henry cried, spotting them.

"Well, will you look at that!" David said, gaping at the sight of his daughter cuddled against the man who had once been the most feared sorcerer in the realms, as he curled protectively about her, both of them sound asleep.

Charming fumbled for his cell, just as Henry pressed it into his hand.

Then he took a final picture. Rock-a-bye Rumple and Regina, Manhattan 2013.

They were going to have some very interesting photos of this vacation, he thought with a wicked smirk, as he tucked his phone back in his pocket and went to wake the two sleeping beauties from dreamland.