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Welcome to Storybrooke Baby Gold

While Emma was being cleaned up and her granddaughter being held by her proud papa, Snow decided to go and tell the anxious Rumple and Regina the good news. So she left the delivery room and returned to the maternity room where Rumple sat on a chair, munching on some potato chips and drinking Evian while Regina slept curled up on his shoulder. Snow grinned at the sight, thinking that anyone who thought Mr. Gold a cold-hearted man had never seen the real Mr. Gold at all, only his cursed persona, and even then he had not been as bad as everyone thought.

"Hey, Grandpa, guess what?"

Rumple looked up. "How is she? And the baby?"

"Emma's doing fine, she came through with flying colors. And we have a new granddaughter," Snow said, beaming. She came and hugged Rumple. "And Bae is just . . .totally utterly besotted."

Rumple grinned too, careful not to dislodge Regina. "I'm so happy for them. For a moment I was afraid my son was going to pass out again, but he didn't, did he?"

"No. And what do you mean—again?"

"He had a wee bit of a problem with Emma getting her epidural, dearie. It scared him stiff . . .and he fainted." Rumple reported, snickering. "Ah Bae! He's brave as a lion when it comes to people trying to kill him with swords, sticks, and whatever, but he gets sick when it comes to people he loves being hurt."

Snow cocked her head. "Like father, like son then, because I know you're hardly any better with Belle sick."

"True, dearie. I just hide it better. Then again, I've seen a lot worse than he has," Rumple said. "So how's my wee grandbaby?"

"She's beautiful, Rumple! Wait till you see her," Snow sighed in rapture. "She reminds me of Emma a little, but she has the Gold hair and nose . . . and I hope Regina isn't jealous when she sees her. Because now we have a new baby to fuss over."

"All kids go through a brief period of jealousy, dearie. It's perfectly normal. But this will be good practice for her because in a few months you'll have a new baby too. Regina just needs to feel like she's needed and wanted and the jealousy will go away. It's why when she comes over my house now, I have her help do things with Belle and me with the twins. Speaking of, I'd better check and see how they're doing, and tell Belle about her new granddaughter."

He pulled out his cell.

As he was talking to Belle, Regina woke up. "Mommy! Is the swan chick borned yet?" she asked as soon as she saw Snow.

"Yes, and guess what? You're an aunt," Snow said, taking her daughter from Rumple and hugging her.

"Cool! Now I'm Auntie Regina! What's the baby's name?"

"Well, I don't know yet. Emma and Bae haven't told me. But you have a new niece."

"The swan chick's a girl?"

"Yes, she is! And you can play with her when she's older."

"Like Daria and Dylan, right?"

"Right. And our baby too when it's born."

Regina looked excited at this prospect. "I'm gonna teach 'em everything I know . . .but I'm not gonna teach 'em to borrow Unca Rumple's wallet. Or go 'sploring an' make Unca Rumple's heart 'splode."

"You what?" Snow frowned. "Rumple, she took your wallet? And she ran off on you again?"

"Afraid so, dearie. That's where all these snacks came from," he gestured at the table. "And she was bored and I wasn't paying attention so she wandered into the elevator and found poor Mr. Sprat and gave him the third degree about his vasectomy."

Snow covered her hand with her mouth. "Oh . . .oh my word!" she giggled. Then she regained her composure. "Regina Nolan, you know better than to do those naughty things. I know we've talked about touching things that aren't yours and wandering away."

The little girl hung her head. "Sorry, Mommy. Unca Rumple already yelled at me an' spanked me."

Snow sighed gustily. "He should've!" She looked apologetically at Rumple. "I'm sorry she always seems to misbehave for you, Rumple."

"Like she doesn't with you?" he countered.

"No, but . . ." she set her daughter down and Regina went to watch cartoons. "She's a lot more . . .stubborn and . . .err . . .defiant than I remember being at that age. Sometimes I'm afraid I'm not being strict enough but . . .I don't want to be a monster like Cora."

"You won't be, Snow," Rumple reassured her. "Cora had no sense of restraint or any idea of what real discipline was like as opposed to abuse. You do. David does. And I sure as hell do. You know what kind of memories she had of Cora before I removed them. Regina is just being Regina—a bossypants toddler who will eventually grow up to drive us not so insane."

"I hope. By the time she's sixteen, she'll probably be giving us heart failure in a whole different way," Snow laughed.

"You'd better believe it. And David better recall where he put his shotgun," Rumple giggled. "I'm considering bringing mine to Hawaii—hidden with magic, because I'm sure I'm going to need it and my cane!"

"You're still planning on doing that for her sixteenth birthday?"

"Snow White, I made a deal with her, and you know I don't break deals, dearie," Rumple informed her. "A promise is a promise."

She patted his arm. "I'll be sure to remember to pray the rosary for you every night."

"Thanks, because I think I'm gonna need it. Either that or divine intervention," he sighed. God help them all when Regina was old enough to date! He was sure after the Hawaii trip his hair was going to be snow white. If he wasn't detained and arrested for bludgeoning some over-amorous boy with his cane.

But right then the perils of a teenage Regina were far away in the future and all he wanted was to see his new grandchild.

Several minutes later, Emma was wheeled into the room and Bae was with her. A nurse followed with the baby in a small pink kimono and blanket.

"Can I see? Can I see?" Regina exclaimed, almost getting run over by the gurney.

Rumple snagged her before they had another reason for a hospital stay. "Wait just a minute, you little scamp!" he ordered. "And no shouting."

"Regina—inside voice," Snow ordered. "Remember? You could scare the baby," she reproved. "And ladies don't screech like fishwives." An instant later she started giggling because that was something she recalled her own mother saying to her. She supposed it was true what they said—when you had kids you turned into your parents a little bit.

"Okay," the toddler sighed, moderating her tone down a few decibels.

Bae helped Emma into bed, she was already yawning. He tucked the blankets about her, then asked if she needed anything, like water or was cold.

"I'm okay, Bae, just tired," she murmured. Having nursed the baby soon after being cleaned up, her breasts were no longer aching and she was ready to pass out. But first she wanted to see how Regina and Rumple liked the baby.

As the orderly wheeled the gurney away, the pediatric nurse came and placed the baby in Emma's arms. "Here you go, Mom."

Emma took the baby and instinctively cuddled her close. Her daughter snuggled against her and made some odd little suckling noises. "Regina, now you can come and say hi to Ilyssa Maria Gold." She smiled at Snow. "I figured Maria was close to Mary and Ilyssa means "noble" and "truthful" so it was a good name for her, considering my heritage and my magic."

"It's a lovely name, Emma," Snow said, touched. "And she is a beautiful baby." She bent to kiss her granddaughter. "Hello there, little one."

Baby Ilyssa gurgled and waved a fist at her grandma.

Snow grabbed her cell and snapped a picture. "Let me call your dad and see if he's on his way," she said, and stepped aside to ring her husband. She also texted him with the picture.

"Emma, now can I see the swan chick?" Regina asked, pulling free of Rumple to peer over the bed.

"Here she is," Emma gently tilted the baby so Regina could see her.

Regina stared at the baby for a moment, then blurted, "But where's her wings n' feathers? If she's a swan chick where'd they go? And why's she almost bald?"

"Err . . .because some babies are born with a lot of hair and some aren't," Bae replied, laughing. "Don't worry, her hair will grow in." His daughter had a small fuzzy patch of dark blond hair covering her head.

"And she's a baby, Regina, not a swan," Emma chuckled. Kids!

Regina pouted. "Aww! But I wanted her to have wings! Like those baby angels in church!"

"Dearie, those were cherubs, and not the same thing," Rumple remonstrated. "But isn't she a lovely wee thing? Very alert and responsive."

Regina nodded. "Yeah, and she's not as wrinkled and overcooked like Daria and Dylan were," she replied with complete honesty.

Rumple's eyebrow rose into his hair. "Excuse me? My twins were not—overcooked, miss."

"They looked it. But they don't now." His niece answered. She studied the baby again. "Well, least ya gots blue eyes."

The baby burbled and held out a fist.

Regina climbed up on the bed and took the baby's hand in hers. "Hello, Ilyssa. I'm your Aunt Regina, and when you gets bigger we're gonna do cool things together, like play in your other aunt Alina's treehouse with Dylan and Daria." She frowned. "Hey . . .aren't Dylan and Daria her aunt n' uncle too?"

"They are, snippet," Bae agreed. "Kind of confusing, isn't it?"

"Does that mean she's gonna call them aunt too?" Regina asked, not wanting to share the coveted title with anyone.

"Probably not, since they're the same age almost, they'll be almost like siblings," Rumple replied. "But she could call you that, dearie. And Alina, if she wishes."

Regina looked pleased. "Yup. Cause I'm bigger and smarter and stuff. Ya hear that, swan chick? I'm the big Aunt, and I'm gonna learn ya all I know," she said, imitating some of the Westerns she watched sometimes on TV with Rumple and David.

"Papa, somebody shoot me," Bae joked.

Regina cast Bae a baleful look. "Don't say that, Bae! Then the swan chick will have no daddy and cry! What's wrong with you?"

"I was kidding!" he protested. Though he prayed that his daughter wouldn't be quite so bossy, loud, and opinionated.

The baby let out a squawk, and Regina immediately lowered her voice, remembering her mom's admonishment. "Sorry, Ilyssa. Didn't mean to scare you. Guess swan chicks have good ears even if you don't gots feathers yet." She kissed the baby on the head.

"F-Feathers!" Emma sputtered. "Kid, she's not gonna have feathers—"

"Uh huh," Regina said with the utter certainty of her three-and-a-half years. "They just haven't grown yet, like her hair."

Snow opened her mouth to correct her daughter's misconception when Rumple spoke. "Dearie, why do you think Ilyssa will grow feathers?"

"Cause it's in the story, Unca Rumple," the toddler pointed out, as if it were obvious and why was he being so dense? "You know, the one about the swan princess Odette."

"Regina, that was a story," her uncle began. "And Odette was cursed to become a swan. Remember how we talked about real and make believe the other day?"

"Yeah, but you're a story too, Unca Rumple. And so's Mommy and Daddy." She pointed out logically. "You're all in the Once Upon a Time book. Henry showed me."

"She's got you there, Rumple," Snow snickered, amazed by her daughter's cleverness.

"Yes, but . . .the swan princess story isn't real," Rumple tried to explain. "So I doubt if Ilyssa will be sprouting feathers anytime soon, dearie."

Regina crossed her arms over her chest. "Uh huh!" she insisted stubbornly. "Just wait."

Bae smirked. "Can't tell her anything, Papa."

Rumple snorted. "Sounds like another little boy I knew."

"I was never that bad!" his son objected.

"No? I beg to differ. I remember things you've forgotten," his papa pointed out.

"Or you think you do," his son snickered. "Selective memory."

"I'll selectively forget you're too old to get a swat, dearie," his father threatened, waving his cane at his son.

"Papa, my God!"

Regina exploded into giggles. "That'd be funny, Unca Rumple!"

In Emma's arms, the baby made agreeing cooing sounds.

"See? Even the swan chick says so."

"I don't believe this!" Bae groaned. "Not even an hour old and already she's in cahoots with the little imp here."

"Be prepared, Bae. Because something tells me this pretty little girl is gonna give you a run for your money," Snow grinned.

"If she's anything like her papa, she sure will," Rumple agreed. "Regina, move over, dearie, and let me see my granddaughter."

Regina hopped down so Rumple could see Ilyssa.

The master magician leaned over and smiled at the baby. "What a fine wee darling you are," he cooed at her. He could already see an aura with his sorcerer's sight, and it glowed strongly, white, green, and purple. "You're too young yet, dearie, for me to determine what magical talent you'll have, but you'll have one. Maybe several," he mused.

"You're sure about that, Rumple?" asked Emma, peering at the baby.

"As sure as my name is Rumplestiltskin," he answered. "Look at her aura, Emma."

Emma did, and whispered, "Oh yeah, but . . .I can't figure out what she'll have either."

"She's too little yet. But a True Love baby will always have some form of magic," her teacher answered.

"I know what she's gonna have!" Regina declared. "She's gonna become a swan!"

"We'll see, minx," Rumple laughed. Once Regina got an idea in her head . . . "May I hold her, Emma?"

"Sure, Grandpa," Emma grinned, and let the old sorcerer take the baby from her.

Rumple held his granddaughter expertly, and murmured, "You are well named, dearie." He rocked the baby a little. Ilyssa gazed up at him with wide knowing eyes. "You are, like your brother, a child of two heritages and two worlds. And may you know the best of both." He removed a hand and flourished it above her, tracing a few arcane symbols in the air. They glowed with a purple light before they drifted about the baby in gentle sparks. "I, Archmagus Rumplestiltskin Gold, bless thee, Ilyssa Maria, child of my blood, and vow to protect and love thee always. May the four elements bear witness, that I place this blessing upon thee, of protection and seal thee to me, so that none shall be able to take thee away that I shall not find thee, and no evil spell touch thee that I cannot break. True Love's daughter, now receive True Love's kiss." He bent and kissed his granddaughter on the forehead and for an instant white light flared about her.

When it died, those watching saw Ilyssa's infant hand closed over her grandpa's nose, mirroring another baby long ago.

"She did that to me too, Papa," Bae exclaimed.

A startled Rumple blinked back tears. "Oh, this lass is a Gold all right. Because you did the same thing to me when you were a baby, Baelfire. The very same thing." He stroked the baby's petal soft cheek.

Ilyssa transferred her grip to his finger.

"Papa, what you did to her . . ." Bae began.

"Is a blessing I put upon my twins, and will on Snow's baby also, if you like," Rumple explained. "So no one can harm or kidnap her and not be able to be found by me and any spells broken."

"Why'd anybody want to kidnap a baby?" Regina asked, frowning.

"You never know, dearie," Rumple said darkly, thinking of Cora Mills, searching for a way to come here to this world and wreak havoc.

Bae met his eyes, knowing exactly what Rumple was thinking of. He flexed his fists unconsciously. If that witch dared to set one foot near his daughter he would end her spellcasting days for good and all. Once they had discovered from Jimmy that Cora was trying to invade Storybrooke, Rumple and Emma together had worked on a special uniform for Bae that would render him immune to dark magic castings . . . and enchanted his bo staff, sai, and katana to do double the harm to dark magicians if he faced one in combat. And even without weapons, his hands and feet were still deadly, especially since most dark mages never thought to guard against karate attacks only weapons. In fact, catch a mage by surprise and you could incapacitate them easily.

Rumple and Emma had also placed wards about the town—warning systems that would let them know Storybrooke had been invaded and by whom and when. Cora would not catch them unaware like she planned, or the Joneses either.

"Nothing's going to hurt my baby," Bae stated quietly.

"No, not while we both are alive," Emma declared.

Snow nodded. "I would be happy to have you bless my baby, Rumple. But have you placed similar spells on Regina and Henry?"

"Yes," he replied. "All of our children are protected," the archmage assured her.

"And Unca Rumple kicks everybody's butt!" Regina shrilled.

Ilyssa wailed in agreement.

"Hush, wee sprite!" her grandfather crooned to her, gently rocking her. "'Tis a lot of noise your aunt makes, but she's naught to be scared of." He made a ridiculous face at her.

Ilyssa stopped crying and stared at him. Then she made a sound approximately like a giggle and reached out both hands to touch his cheeks.

As she patted his cheeks, Rumple sang in a silly singsong voice, "Pat-a-cake Pat-a-cake baker's man! Bake me a cake as fast as ye can!"

"Pat it and roll it and mark it with B!" Regina sang along. "And put it in the oven for Lyssa and me! Yay!" she clapped her hands.

Ilyssa squealed, liking the song.

"I didn't scare her that time, did I, Mommy?" Regina asked Snow.

"No, sweetie. You were very good, singing to her like that," Snow praised. "I hope you'll sing to our baby like that too once he or she is born."

"I will. And it's gonna be a boy. Cause that's what I wished for."

"The queen has spoken," Emma smirked.

"Yup! But I'm a princess!" Regina corrected.

"You're a pain in the butt," Bae teased.

He was rewarded with one of her Royal Awful Looks.

"But we love you anyway, dearie," Rumple added. "Just like we do all our children." Bae snapped a picture of him and his granddaughter, then Rumple handed Ilyssa back to her dad.

"Speaking of kids, I'd better text Henry," Emma said and reached for her phone.

"And I'd better call Alina," Rumple said. He texted her and Jimmy.

By the time they had finished informing the rest of the family of the good news, David arrived, carrying a large bouquet of flowers for Emma and large pink unicorn for his new granddaughter. "How's my girls?" he greeted his daughter and new arrival.

"We're good. Tired—but happy," Emma smiled at him, accepting his hug and kiss. "Those are beautiful."

"Rainbow flowers and unicorns for my princesses," David declared, beaming, as he set the flowers down on the table amid the myriad of snacks littering it.

"Hey! I'm your princess too!" a little voice cried indignantly.

David glanced down to see Regina glaring at him.

Uh oh! Someone's jealous! Bae thought wryly. He thanked God Henry was too old and not of a temperament to resent his smaller sibling. But Regina was still a baby herself and she had been the center of David and Mary Margaret's world until just now.

Tread carefully, dearie, Rumple thought. Regina's rather thin skinned and not inclined to share your affection very well. He recalled quite well the occasional tantrums she had thrown with him and Belle when she had stayed over his house since the twins had been born. Tantrums born of frustration and anger that she no longer had his undivided attention. It had taken both him and Belle many hours to get her to understand that just because they had the twins as priorities now, didn't mean they loved Regina any less, and he had tried to give Regina small tasks to help out so she felt wanted and needed by them, but as a big girl now. It had worked, so far. Though Rumple always watched his niece carefully around the twins.

David knelt and hugged his small daughter. "You'll always be my princess, Regina," he told her. "Only now I have three of them to love."

"Does that mean you love the baby better?" she pouted.

"No, because what have Mommy and I told you about love?"

"Umm . . . that love never ends and you can love lots of people because your heart has room for everyone," she recited.

"That's right! You're so smart," her dad grinned, tweaking her nose. "And you can teach the baby that when she's old enough to understand. Because now you're a big girl, and can share your love and knowledge with—err . . .what's the baby's name? Your Mommy forgot to tell me."

Regina groaned. "Mo-om!" she shook her head. "Daddy, the baby's called Ilyssa Maria Gold."

"That's a lovely name," Charming said. Then he continued. "—so you can share your love and knowledge with Ilyssa now. Can you do that, Regina?"

The little girl thought about it. Slowly, she nodded. She liked being a big girl and looked up to by the younger child. "Okay, Daddy!"

"That's my girl! And you can teach our baby too when he gets here," David reminded her. Both he and Snow were doing their best to prepare their small imp for the baby's arrival as much as they could. Now that Emma's baby was born, they could also use Ilyssa to show Regina what to expect when their baby was born.

"Yup." She took his hand. "C'mon, Daddy, you need to say hi to Lyssa." She pulled him over to where Bae was sitting with the baby. "She's a swan chick only she don't gots no feathers yet."

"I see," David's mouth twitched. He peered down at his new granddaughter. "Well, hello there, sweet thing! You know what? You look just like your mom when she was born. She was almost bald too, and she had the biggest blue eyes."

"Gee, thanks, Dad," Emma said. "I'm not sure if I ought to be flattered or insulted."

"Flattered, Em. Because that's the only embarrassing memory he has of you," Bae remarked. "Unlike me, who has Mr. Wizard there who remembers tons of horribly embarrassing things about me."

Emma eyed Gold thoughtfully. "Hey, Rumple . . .how about you and I go grab a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue one day and share some memories?"

"No! Emma, don't you dare!" her husband yelped.

Rumple chuckled evilly. "Sounds good to me, dearie."

"Papa, that's blackmail!"

"Is it? I'm not charging anyone anything," he said innocently.

"Where's a forgetting potion when you need one?" his son moaned.

"Come to Gramps, chickie," David said, and picked up Ilyssa, holding her to him. He recalled another day long ago when he had held her mother this same way—before being forced to put her in a wardrobe to save her from the ravages of a Dark Curse. But this baby he would never have to give up, because her best chance was right here, with her family who loved her.

Emma smiled at the picture of her dad holding her baby and wondered if this was how he had been with her. What goes around comes around, she thought, and felt her eyes drift shut. Within moments she was asleep.

David looked down and saw that his grandbaby was asleep also. "Guess getting born wears you out, huh?" he tickled her under the chin.

"Yup, it does," Regina piped up.

"Like you would know, dearie."

"I do know, Unca Rumple!"

"How?"

"Dylan n' Daria said so!" the child declared authoritatively.

"Really, dearie? Now you speak babble?" her uncle twitted gently.

"Yeah. Cause I'm a kid, and only grown-ups are clueless!" she returned spiritedly.

Snow smothered a giggle and took a picture of David and Ilyssa on her phone.

"Only you'd get away saying that to Papa," Alina said as she entered the room with Henry, having been dropped off at the hospital by Alice before she had to go shopping.

"Henry! The swan chick's borned!" squealed Regina, running over to him and grabbing him around the knees.

"Yeah, I know. Dad told me," Henry smiled, and hugged the little girl who had once been his mom and now was his aunt. Then he went to see his little sister, who was being held by David. "Whoa! She's bigger than the twins when they were born, Alina."

Alina smirked, "That's 'cause twins are always smaller than one baby. How much does she weigh?"

"She's seven pounds, three ounces and twenty inches long," Bae told his sister. "Like a little turkey breast."

"Eeew! Bae, she ain't a turkey! She's a swan!" objected Regina.

"Can I hold her?" Henry asked, and David handed him his newborn sister.

"Be careful, Henry," he cautioned. "You need to—"

"I know, Gramps. Remember, I held the twins when they were first born," Henry reminded him, and he took the sleepy baby in his arms. "Hey, baby sister, wake up and say hi to your big brother. I'm Henry."

Ilyssa's eyelids fluttered and she yawned and looked up at him.

"Yeah, you have Mom's eyes. She always looks like that when she's half-asleep," Henry told his sibling. He kissed her cheek. "Welcome to Storybrooke, baby Gold."

"Her name's Ilyssa Maria, Henry," Bae told him, and then he took several pictures of his two children together.

Henry smiled, holding his now slumbering sister, who could fit in his arm like a cat. Then Regina climbed up by him and gave him a hug. He put an arm around her and then Rumple snapped a picture of the three of them together—the sassy imp, his intrepid grandson, and his swan chick—the next generation of Storybrooke.

A/N:next up- swan chick comes home-and what new trials and laughs will the new parents face? Are Bae and Emma ready for a newborn? And will Rumple be driven crazy by new parent anxiety? What do you think?