Once Upon A Time
Both Rumpelstiltskin and the woman spent the next two days side by side next to the spinning wheel while he worked. The first day she slept on and off against the wall but the next day she stayed awake longer.
"What's your name?" he finally asked her as the end of the second day was drawing to an end.
She tore her gaze away from the spinning of the wheel and looked at him.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't wish to," he said, "However it would be nice that if we do start talking, that I have something to call you by."
She pulled the shawl that one of the women up close had given her and leaned against the wall. She was starting to get tired.
"Do you need help?" he asked. The leg wound that she'd suffered from the Ogre attack wasn't deep but she still had problems walking on it.
"Yes," she said and gripped his arm when he helped her up.
She all but collapsed on the bed when he helped her near it.
"Dagian," she said quietly when he moved back toward his wheel.
"What?" he asked.
"It's my name," she accepted the blanket that he gave her.
"It's pretty," he told her.
She gave a slight blush and smiled, "Thank you."
HE averted his gaze, "Yes well um…you're welcome."
And he hurried back to his seat.
Present Day
Dawn scanned up and down the instruction manual and looked at the pile of random wood bits that were lying on the floor.
Why couldn't these stupid cribs come prebuilt?
"Hello darling," her husband greeted her at the doorway, "You're up early,"
She smiled, stood, and kissed him, "Ashley called her doctor last night because she thought she was feeling contractions."
"Really?" he raised an eyebrow, "And how do you know that?"
She wrapped her arms around his neck, "We have eyes and ears everywhere, remember?
"Well I know I did, I didn't know that you did."
"I have to have some leverage too," Dawn smiled radiantly, "We're going to have a baby by the end of the week."
She kissed him again, a gesture that was more passionate than any kiss she'd ever given him.
He pulled back slightly, a look of discomfort on his face passed quickly and was replaced by a vague smile, "Kiss me like that again dear and you'll give me no choice but to take the morning off."
"Wouldn't bother me any," she smirked.
"No, it's Friday and that's my busiest day because people are trying to sell their things and get a little more money for the weekend."
She sighed, "You better make it up to me."
"Dear, I made sure you would be a mother this week. What more could I possibly do for you?"
She raised her eyebrow, "Well if you have to ask that."
Once Upon A Time
Winter was coming, so Rumpelstiltskin kept the fire burning in the hearth throughout the nights to heat the house. Other nights it was pitch dark but during the winter he could see an outline of the one roomed house that his grandfather had built and his father had lived at.
And sometime during the night he could see that his bed in which she slept on was empty.
He stood and grabbed the blanket that was folded at the end of his abed and walked out of the house. She could barely sit awake, what made her think that she could walk around outside in the cold?
He pushed the curtain back and breathed in the colder air.
She hadn't gone far; he could see her sitting on a bench right outside the door.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I just needed to be out there."
"I was…I didn't mean to intrude, I just wanted to make sure you were alright."
"Stay with me," she asked when he pulled the curtain back.
He reluctantly sat down and they spent a few seconds in silence, "Anyone here would've opened their home to you. Yet you chose me. Why do you trust me so much?"
She looked at him, "Well why shouldn't I? You were the one that found me
"Oh," he turned and pressed his back against the wall.
She wrapped the blanket around her shoulders, "We were only three days away from home when we were attacked. W-we thought that since we were so far away from the fighting that no one would get attacked but they were wrong and so we made the trek anyway."
She stopped and drew a shaky breath, "I can't sleep without…seeing...withotu seeing what happened."
He didn't say anything as she started sobbing heavily; he did put his hand on her back uneasily because he didn't know what else to do.
The shock was gone, healing would begin.
Present Day
Dawn sat cross legged on the couch and stared at the clock in frustration.
He should've been home an hour ago.
Not that she was worried or anything.
She tapped her cellphone against the couch as the seconds ticked by. He was probably haggling again. Maybe someone messed up on their rent or they didn't pay their loan and he was listening to them as they cried and begged for more time.
She scoffed and stood, "If they weren't going to have the money later then why should they ask for more money now? It never made sense.
At 9:30 Dawn finally stood and picked up her phone. If he was on his way then she wouldn't mind. He liked to walk and since he had a limp then sometimes it slowed him down. Especially when it was getting cooler.
She dialed the number but then she heard the telltale tap of his cane on the stairs outside.
Immediately she stormed to the front door and ripped it open, "I thought you-
"I know," she heard him say, "I'm sorry."
He brushed past her and she stood in the doorway for a second in shock at the idea of him apologizing and shut the door, "What happened?"
He was leaning heavily on the cane and he sat down on the stairs just inside the front door.
She turned on the lamp and immediately saw that he had a large gash and bruise right above his eye, "Were you attacked?"
"Yes."
She felt her stomach clench at the idea then shook off the worry, "I'll get some medicine cabinet stuff from the…medicine...cabinet."
