A/N Sorry this took so long! Cheers!
Chapter Nineteen
The Charming's Apartment
Regina knocks and enters the front door of the apartment, looking around as she takes off her dark trenchcoat.
"Where's Charming?" she asks, taking a head count.
Emma pushes away from the kitchen counter with a coffee in hand.
"He's at the Sheriff's station keeping an eye on Blackbeard and his cronies until we figure out what to do with them. Thanks for moving them there, by the way."
"Good. One problem at a time and this one seems more urgent I think." Regina says as she starts marching over towards Belle's bed.
"Now that I've showered off the piratey stench of seawater. What is going on with you, Belle? You have magic now? When did that happen?"
Regina asks, looking around incredulously. Belle blushes slightly and answers awkwardly from the bed as she sits up.
"I guess. I'm about as confused as you. I was hoping that you would have some insight, actually."
Belle looks hopefully at Regina.
"Magic is a learned skill and as far as I know, you haven't been learning it. It took some serious magic to put that ship back together."
A bit crestfallen, Belle looks down and caresses her stomach.
"I don't know how or why; But I think it was the baby."
"Isn't that interesting." Says Gold, stepping out of the corner of the room that he had materialized into.
"Rumple!" Belle says warily, her eyes going wide as everyone else starts and steps back from the intrusion. Mr. Gold steps closer to the bed where Belle lies.
"I heard an interesting story this morning from one of the dwarves. Imagine my surprise to hear that my dear wife has been wielding great magicks lately."
Belle looks around to the others pleadingly.
"It wasn't me. I swear."
"I believe you. It takes years of training to accomplish the kind of magic that you seemed to know instantly. Something else is going on here and I aim to figure out what it is. The simplest explanation is that the power is indeed coming from our child." Gold says, switching his piercing gaze from his wife's face to her swollen stomach.
Regina follows his stare and says,
"I have never heard of that happening. Children born with innate magic gifts still don't usually have control over them until they reach adulthood."
"She told me that she would protect me." Belle says in a small voice.
After a collectively stunned silence, Gold speaks.
"You spoke to our child?… She?..." he says, noticeably choking on emotion.
Belle looks up at him with a shy smile.
"Yes. I heard her voice in my head before the magic started."
Emma starts pacing at the side of Belle's bed and thinking out loud.
"How can that be? I mean babies don't really innately know right from wrong… She must be reading Belle's emotions." Emma says, stopping to turn to Henry.
"You said that Belle got upset watching the Jolly Roger go down, right?" Killian winces at the mention of his ship and Emma places a comforting hand on his arm. Henry nods at his mother and she turns back to Belle.
"The baby is reacting to her mother's emotions." She concludes as Killian's brow furrows.
"But how would putting my ship back together be 'protecting' Belle?" he asks.
Belle eyes Rumple for a moment before turning to Killian and answering him.
"Because you are my family. I remember thinking of you saving us both by taking me to the hospital the other day and I was wishing that I could save you in return. [Belle looks down at her stomach] I absently touched my stomach, and 'WHAM'! The magic came over me and she was there, in my head."
There is another pause as everyone absorbs that.
"Can you speak to our child now?" Gold asks quietly.
"No. It only happened that once."
"It sounds like a defensive reaction when Belle feels upset or frightened." Regina offers.
Gold regards Belle in a very calculating way and he is starting to raise his hand towards her when Killian slams his hook down on Gold's wrist and steps between Gold and Belle.
"Are you really going to frighten your pregnant wife, just to get a reaction from the child within her?" Killian snarls in Gold's face with disgust. Gold meets Killian's stare and rips his arm away.
Emma and Regina step up behind Killian, arms crossed making a formidable barrier between Gold and Belle.
The standoff ends when they all stiffen at the sound of a strange voice, speaking from the bed behind them.
"Hello, father."
Everyone turns cautiously to see Belle sitting with hands folded and an unsettling smile on her face. She is looking at Gold with unblinking blank eyes and she shimmers with a light blue glow.
Gold takes a step towards the bed, eyes narrowing.
"Who are you?"
"I think you know."
"It's not possible."
"Oh, but it is. You should really check that containers are truly empty before putting precious things inside them." Belle says, eyes glowing.
"Pandora's box. You switched places with my child when Belle was resting in the box." He accuses with venom.
"Wrong again. I am your child, like I said. But now I am more." She says, eyes burning.
Gold tries to step closer again but Belle's fingers twitch on the bedspread and Gold freezes.
"I can feel my Mother's apprehension of you, father. She fears for me. And so I believe our conversation is now over."
With a small flick of Belle's wrist, Gold disappears into red smoke.
Nobody in the room knew quite what to do as Belle's strange face smiles widely and addresses the room.
"See you soon, my friends."
And then Belle's eyes roll back as she falls back onto the bed, displaying her even rounder stomach.
Killian recovers first and raises an eyebrow with a shaky smirk.
"It's never bloody dull around here, is it?"
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
The Blue Fairy was called in to monitor Belle when it was decided that her situation was outside the realm of doctor Whale's expertise.
Blue has been looking over Belle as she sleeps for a few minutes, when she stands back to speak with Emma and the others.
"From what I can tell, the two times that the child has come forward to control Belle, it has progressed her pregnancy by about two months. She was already rounding on her second trimester to begin with, so I fear that if the child takes control again…"
Emma finishes Blue's thought, concern clouding her eyes.
"… it will take Belle's pregnancy to term."
Blue nods solemnly.
"I'm more concerned about what we can expect after the birth." Regina states bluntly, looking warily towards Belle. Blue responds as she sits back down next to Belle.
"Not knowing exactly what the infant was exposed to inside Pandora's box, we have no way of knowing what to expect from her." Blue says regretfully.
Snow walks over from the kitchen in the tiny apartment and hands Neal to Emma when he holds out his arms for her. Emma smiles at her baby brother and Snow looks over to Blue to ask,
"Is it possible that some of that magic came from Rumpelstiltskin? Like, at conception could it have been passed to the baby?"
Blue shakes her head.
"No, magic doesn't work that way. Rumpelstiltskin's magic could make the child more predisposed towards magic but his magic is learned and therefore wouldn't transfer to the baby."
Killian, who is making silly faces to entertain the little prince in Emma's arms, looks around.
"So, we really need to find out what was lurking in that dreaded box when the Crocodile put Belle in it, then? Too bad our best researcher is having a great long nap." He says with a small chuckle.
"I guess it's back to good old police work, then. I'm guessing Gold is already sparkly elbows deep in his own research so let's try to get ahead of him." Emma says as she shifts her baby brother into Killian's arms. He promptly tosses the toddler into the air, making him squeal with delight and making most of the women in the room smirk at the adorableness.
"I'll go rifle through some of the older books in my vault for any mention of the box. I'll call if I find anything." Regina says as she raises a hand and disappears. Blue goes back to monitoring Belle and Snow pulls out her laptop and sits at the table. Emma joins Henry at the breakfast bar where he has hauled out his own laptop to start researching Pandora's box.
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
Belle starts rousing some time later and her eyes widen on her stomach as she tries to sit up and is hindered by her rather large abdomen.
"Oh My." She says as her face snaps to Blue who comes hurrying over at the sound of Belle waking.
"The others have gone to library to research what is happening with your child. Snow is upstairs trying to settle Neal to sleep." Blue says as she strokes Belle's arm gently.
Tears form in Belle's eyes as she looks across at her baby bulge.
"What is going to happen to my baby? [she looks up to meet the Blue fairy's eyes] … To me?"
Blue's expression purses as she looks down at Belle.
"We don't know yet. I'm sorry."
Belle sobs quietly for a moment before taking a deep breath and steeling herself. Turning to Blue once more, she says,
"Then I need you to do something for me, Blue."
Startled by the charge in Belle's demeanour, Blue just tilts her head in question.
"I need you to make sure that my baby is taken care of, if something should happen to me."
Blue tries to contain her shock for a moment before giving Belle a single nod of her head.
"Of course."
oOoOoOo
An hour later Emma, Killian and Henry come through the door of the apartment, rushing towards Belle, holding arms full of books.
"We found out what was left in Pandora's Box!" Henry says as he starts dumping books down on the bed at Belle's feet.
She laughs at the pile of books and looks up at their excited faces.
Emma ruffles Henry's hair as she speaks.
"For once it's not something horrible about to wreak havoc on the town."
Henry is bursting with the information and Killian gives him a nudge on the shoulder, indicating he can go ahead.
"It was hope!"
Belle smiles and caresses her stomach as Henry babbles on.
"The last thing Zeus left in Pandora's box, according to legend, was hope. So, we think that's what power has been absorbed by the baby. So, that's good, right?" he says, beaming at Belle.
"It certainly makes sense." Belle says as she looks at each of her friends.
"Because that's what she told me her name is. Hope."
Everyone grins and Killian slides an arm around Emma's waist and kisses her temple as they all smile listening to Henry prattle on about their research as he rifles through books to show Belle.
But of course, the calm doesn't last and is broken by a resounding 'BOOM' that echoes through the town.
Emma and Killian spring apart, ready for battle and Henry jumps off the bed. As everyone recovers from the sudden sound, they all turn to look at the bed.
Belle's face has gone pale and her expression turns to horror and she looks up at the Blue Fairy beseechingly.
Blue grips Belle's hand and watches helplessly as Belle's eyes flicker with white and the blue glow starts to shimmer.
"No! Not yet!" she whimpers and Snow comes bounding down the stairs towards them, holding a screaming Neal in her arms and a look of alarm. Seeing Belle, Snow holds Neal out for Killian and Henry and usher the boys out to the living room.
Belle stiffens and arches up, her mouth opening wide and her blank eyes staring upwards. Emma and Snow share a knowing look and brace themselves for what they know is coming.
"He dares tamper with the vessel!" the other voice yells from Belle's mouth before she slumps back on the bed and they all watch Belle's stomach grow bigger.
Seconds pass and Emma, Snow and Blue hold their breath, waiting.
Belle screams and convulses in pain.