A/N: One of my favorite scenes was Rumple crying while holding Baby Bae and the baby touched his nose. I'm not sure if that was suppose to happen, but it made the scene that more heartbreaking.

Chapter Seven

The fire crackled as the warmth moved through the room and Rumplestiltskin sighed, placing his hands behind his head. Sleep had evaded him as he traced the swirling patterns of the canopy above his head and listened to the soft hiss of the logs as they burst into flame. Belle slept with her head resting on the center of his chest and her head lightly rose and fell with his breathing. Her hair was tickling his skin and he softly smiled as he let his mind wander.

"Rumple?" she mumbled, breaking his train of thought and he softly stroked her hair.

"Did I wake you, Dearie?" he asked and she smiled while his voice growled in her ear.

"Yes."

"Sorry."

"Can't you sleep?" she asked in a sleepy tone and snuggled a little closer.

"No."

"What's wrong?" she asked, opening her eyes and he could just see the concerned look in her eyes.

"Nothing's wrong. I'm just thinking," he said and slid his left arm around her.

"What are you thinking about," she asked, listening to the gentle beating of his heart.

"I'm trying to think of a way to bring Emma and Henry home."

"Even if you could, you can't. Henry staying behind was Regina's price for breaking the curse."

"I know that, but they should be here," he slightly growled and his heart started beating faster.

"I miss them, too," she said and stroked his side as she tried to calm her husband's heart.

"Another reason why they should be here is we might need Emma. She is the savior after all."

"But you, Charming and the others can handle things."

"I can't do magic, Dearie," he growled and she sighed. Even though some people had come to see him, Rumplestiltskin hadn't made any deals and she knew he was frustrated. "The other reason is she and Henry will miss the baby's birth."

"I know. Now why don't you close your eyes? You told me that you think better after a good night's sleep," she said when he sighed then closed his eyes and she placed her hand on his shoulder. His heart slowed as his breathing evened out and she gently kissed his chest before closing her eyes, following him into sleep.

The sunlight shimmered off the suits of armor while Rumplestiltskin sat with his feet on the dining table and he looked at the leather wristband. Belle had tried using butter, bear grease and a blunt blade knife to get the leather wrist band off, but none of them had worked and he was becoming frustrated.

"Papa, if you weren't already dead, I'd kill you," he thought when the large doors opened and Belle came in the room.

She was dressed in a blue dress with white, short sleeves and a white apron and black slippers were on her feet. She had her hair in a ponytail and she smiled, looking at her husband.

He was wearing a cream color shirt that was open enough to show his collarbone and a little bit of his chest, a brown leather vest, brown leather trousers and the brown leather boots that tied up the front, ending at his knees.

"Leave it," she said as she sat on the end of the table and he looked at her, brushing the hair from his eyes.

"I should have cut my hand off," he sighed and she smiled, patting his knee.

"That's all we need. Two Hooks," she teased while he looked at her and arched an eyebrow.

"Are you being smart with me, Dearie?" he asked.

"Uh," she said when she saw the look on his face as well as the anger in his eyes and he placed his feet down, scraping the chair back as he stood up.

"Are you?" he demanded and she hopped off the end of the table, slowly backing up.

"No," she said with her hands held up in front of her.

"Then what are you doing?"

"I was just teasing," she said while he came closer and glared at her.

"I am not in the mood to be teased," he said as she backed up and her heart slammed in her chest.

"I'm sorry," she said when her back hit the wall and he slammed his hands against the wall on either side of her head.

"I don't care," he said then moved closer until they were face to face and she felt his breath on her face.

"Please, you're scaring me," she said and he giggled.

"Good," he said then placed his lips to her ear. "I'm going to have to punish you now."

"No," she whimpered when he moved back and looked at her. Tears rolled down her cheeks as her body shook and he blinked his eyes a few times.

"Belle," he said softly. She covered her face with her hands when she started sobbing and he lowered his arms. He knew he was teasing her back, but the look of pure fear in her eyes made his heart shutter in his chest and he blinked the tears gathering in his eyes. "Darling, don't cry."

"Please don't hurt me," she sobbed and he swallowed hard.

"Oh, Belle, I would never hurt you," he said as she lowered her hands and saw the tears running down his face. "It was a quip."

"You were teasing me?" she asked when he nodded his head then moved closer and brushed some hair behind her ear. She winced when his hand came closer and he pressed his lips together.

"You're afraid of me," he whispered as he backed away and turned his back to her.

"Well," she said when she walked around him to stand in front of him and placed her hand on his chest. "You can be frightening."

"Are you teasing me again?" he asked and she nodded her head. He lowered his head when she slid her arms around him and placed her head against his shoulder. He slid his arms around her when she kissed his cheek and he softly smiled. "Forgive me?"

"Yes, but I think I should punish you for being so mean," she said and he widened his eyes. Baelfire walked in the room when he looked at them and Rumplestiltskin gently rocked Belle back and forth.

"Is everything alright?" he asked as Rumplestiltskin looked at him and he stood next to his father.

"No, I accidentally scared Belle," Rumplestiltskin said softly and she placed her hand on his shoulder.

"What did you do?"

"I was teasing him about wanting to cut his hand off because we can't get the wristband off and he pretended to be angry with me," Belle said. "He stopped when he saw how scared I was."

"Papa," Bae said, rolling his eyes.

"I apologized," Rumplestiltskin said then sighed. "Did you want something?"

"A messenger arrived. Snow's had the baby last night."

"That's great," Belle said with a smile. "What did she have?"

"She had a girl."

"Why were we being told personally? Surely there will be a royal announcement," Rumplestiltskin said.

"There will be in a few days. Only family members are being informed now," Bae said and Rumplestiltskin frowned. "Face it, Papa, we're family."

"Yes, I guess we are," he said with a smile.

"Can we go see them?" Belle asked.

"There's a carriage outside," Bae said as they left the room and Bae closed the doors behind them.

Snow White sat against the pillows while she held her newborn daughter in her arms and gently rocked her. She thought back to when she held Emma before they had placed her in the wardrobe and tears trickled down her cheeks.

"So many years apart," she thought and kissed the top of the baby's head.

"She would have loved you," she whispered when the doors opened and Charming led Baelfire and Belle in the room. Belle walked to the bed when she sat on the edge of the bed and tried to peek into the blanket. "Would you like to hold her?"

"Yes," Belle said while Snow White handed her the baby and Belle moved the blanket down. "Oh, she is so cute."

"She looks like you," Baelfire said while standing next to the bed and Charming stood next to him. Snow White saw Rumplestiltskin standing in the doorway with a soft, tan color fleece blanket draped over his arms and he looked uncomfortable.

"You can come in," she teased, but he shook his head.

"I can see fine from here, Dearie," he said with a wave of his hand and Belle sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Come on," Belle said when he walked in the room then stopped in the center and held the blanket against his chest.

"Why is he acting so shy?" Charming whispered.

"Maybe he's afraid you'll think he's here to steal her from you," Bae whispered.

"Is he?" he asked and Snow White glared at him.

Rumplestiltskin stood next to the bed when he placed the blanket down and Belle held the baby up so he could get a better look.

"What is her name?" he asked.

"We decided on Rose," Snow said.

"Want to hold her?" Belle asked and he backed up with his hands up.

"No thank you, Dearie," he said as she sighed, stood up and placed the baby in his arms. He looked at Rose as the baby blinked her eyes a few times and he softly smiled. He adjusted his hold when she snuggled closer and he rocked her. "You are beautiful."

"She likes you," Belle said and placed her chin on his shoulder.

"Do you?" he asked as he lifted Rose up for a closer look when she reached up and touched his nose. His heart jumped in his chest as he looked at her and Belle saw the tears in the corner of his eye.

"Rumple?" she asked when he handed her the baby and walked away. He stood near the wardrobe when Charming walked to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you ok?" he whispered.

"Yes," he said with a nod of his head.

"Why don't I believe you?"

"I don't care if you do," he said with angry eyes then turned and looked at Snow White. "Sorry, but we have to go."

Snow White looked at him then at Belle, Charming and Baelfire and pressed her lips together.

"Why don't you show Belle and Bae the nursery?" she asked as Charming gave her a puzzled look then nodded and Belle and Baelfire followed him out of the room. Snow White held Rose in her arms after Belle had given her back to her mother and Rumplestiltskin looked at them, puzzled.

"Why did you send them out of the room, Dearie?" he asked, walking to the bed and sat down. She moved the blanket as she patted the space next to her and he shrugged and sat against the pillows.

"She didn't hurt you, did she?" Snow asked and he looked at Rose.

"No," he said with a smile.

"Then what happened?" she asked and he sighed.

"You do remember that my first wife left me when Bae was a baby, don't you?"

"Yes."

"I was heartbroken and crying when she did. While I was talking to him, telling him I did it all for him and that I would never leave him, he reached up and touched my nose. It was the simplest thing…like he didn't want me to cry. When she…"

"When she touched your nose, it all came back?" Snow asked and he nodded his head. "Here."

She handed him the baby as he held Rose in his arms and Rose snuggled against his chest.

"I frightened Belle today."

"What did you do?"

"She was teasing me about wanting to cut my hand off to get rid of this," he said and showed her the leather wristband.

"I thought it would have fallen off when Pan died."

"We never saw the body," he said and sighed. "I wanted to tease her by pretending to be angry, but she thought I was angry. She started crying and pulled away when I tried to touch her."

"Did you apologize?"

"Yes, but I can still see the fear in her eyes," he sighed and stroked Rose's cheek. "She did say she wants to punish me for being mean."

"Are you going to let her?" she asked and he smiled, wiggling his eyebrows up and down. She softly laughed as he giggled and Rose looked at him with a confused look on her face.

The fire crackled in the fireplace as Belle slept curled up next to Rumplestiltskin and his right arm was draped over her waist. His head was against hers when something woke him and he blinked his eyes a few times. He listened to the room when the soft cry of a baby filled the darkness and he waited for it to stop. Something deep inside him urged him to get out of bed when he slid the bedding back and sat up, looking toward the doors.

Charming had insisted they spend the night and had given them the tower room where they spent their wedding night.

The hard wood floor was cold on his bare feet as he headed for the door and removed the dressing gown Charming had given him from the back of the chair. He was surprised when Charming had given him a nightshirt to sleep in and Rumplestiltskin opened the door, walking into the hallway. The crying was a little louder as he sighed, scratched the top of his head and headed down the hallway.

Snow White rocked Rose in the wooden rocking chair when she heard a soft coughing sound and looked at the doorway. Rumplestiltskin stood there as she smiled at him and he leaned on the doorway, yawning.

"Is she alright?" he asked while walking to the rocking chair and looked down at Rose.

"Yes, she was just hungry," she said. "Sorry if she woke you."

"It's alright," he said then sat on the chair next to the rocking chair. "I had to get up when Bae was little."

"It must have been hard…raising him alone."

"Yes," he said then yawned.

"Go back to bed."

"Where is Charming?"

"He's still asleep."

"I'm going to have to have a talk with him about being a good father," he muttered then got up and walked to the door, grumbling something about Charming being an idiot. Smiling, she watched him leave when she kissed the top of Rose's head and gently rocked her.

"Where did you go?" Belle asked in a sleepy tone after he had crawled back in bed and pulled the bedding up.

"The baby was crying and I went to see what was wrong," he mumbled when he snuggled against her and wrapped his arm around her.

"Where was Snow and Charming?"

"She had gotten up, but he was sleeping," he said then snorted. "Amateur."

"Are you saying that you would get up if our baby was crying?" she asked and he placed his head against hers.

'Yes."

"How many children do you want?"

"If we count Bae, it would be five," he said then sighed and closed his eyes.

"Why five?"

"Well, we have to keep trying until we get a girl…if that's alright with you."

"Yes, that's fine," she said as she snuggled closer and tucked her head under his chin. Sighing, they drifted off to sleep and the fire crackled softly in the fireplace.

The moonlight shimmered off the suits of armor while shadows moved along the floor and walls when a loud screeching sound filled the air and the window glass shattered. Several creatures with wings on their backs came in the dining room then moved around the room and started smashing and destroying things. Screeching and hissing, the creatures headed for the large doors while the large doors slammed open and the creatures headed into the hallway.

None of them noticed the small creature sitting on the pedestal as tiny paws picked up the chipped, china cup and the small creature looked at it. The small creature nearly dropped the chipped, china cup when one of the larger creatures appeared in the doorway then screeched and the small creature placed the chipped, china cup on the pedestal, hopping off the pedestal and ran out of the room.