Thank you Helena Menezes for reviewing! Yeah, the clock kinda just came to me when I was planning everything out.

Thank you Guest for reviewing! I'm glad you liked it.

Thank you InkyTheHalfling for reviewing! I'm glad to know I'm writing it well enough that people have doubts about the father. Knowing who the father is kinda made it hard to write as if no one knew. That is an interesting theory you have, you'll just have to read this chapter to find out since everything is revealed in this one.

Thank you Alex Beckett for reviewing! Things will get a lot more cheerful from here on out until near the end, I promise.

Belle knew no pain like the pain of giving birth. She had seen pain, had seen torture, had been mentally tortured for years, but nothing she had ever experienced would quite hold a candle to giving birth.

It was a strangely warm day for the middle of winter, so everyone had been out and about and that included the soon to be mother as she and the dwarves finished up the last of the list of needed supplies before the baby arrived. She had wished that Ruby could have come with her instead of working at the diner, but Granny hadn't been feeling well, so she was the only one who could run the whole place. The dwarves were helpful and all and they didn't mind her asking their opinions on even the girliest of items, but they were still men and shopping for a baby seemed so much more like something you should do with your best girl friend or your husband. It was while she was shopping that she had felt the first wave of pain shoot through her system, immediately calling out for Doc from the aisle over. The dwares were surprisingly quick to reach her side and help carrying her none too gently to Doc's office before the contractions really started to hit. Doc shooed his brothers out of the room she had been placed in, ordering them to go fetch Ruby and Granny instead of milling around the office.

Several excruciating hours later, Belle couldn't help but smile and allow tears of joy to stream down her face to replace the ones from pain as she was handed a little bundle of crying baby. The little girl quieted down the moment she was placed in Belle's arms and chose to stare up at her with large brown eyes. Belle felt a small pang of surprise to see that the little girl looked almost exactly like Rumpelstiltskin, or, at least, his form here in this world. If her True Love had any doubt about their daughter's parentage, her looks would make them all go away with how much she resembled him.

"Do you have a name for her?" Ruby asked quietly from her bedside, having filled in the typical husband role for the mother while her husband was away.

"Not yet," Belle murmured, not looking away from her daughter as she studied the cute child. "I was thinking that I would give her a name for this world, but leave her true name for when Rumple gets home."

"Kinda like giving her her own cursed name," Ruby said thoughtfully, grinning. "I think that's a great idea. That way we all have something to call her, but Gold can still participate in naming her."

"Exactly," Belle nodded, thankful that her best friend understood where she was coming from. "What do you say, Iris? Will you wait for your true name until your father comes home?"

The baby girl only yawned at her mother's words, blinking as she slowly fell asleep.

"We should all get some rest," Doc said from the door, drawing Belle's attention away from her sleeping child. "We've had a long day and tomorrow you will be moving the young one home, so you will want to be well rested."

"I'll make sure she sleeps, Doc," Ruby reassured him as she stood to take Iris from her mother. Belle looked a tad stricken to see her child go into the other woman's arms, but knew her body was tired and had only stayed functional this long so she could hold her child for the first time. "Don't worry, Belle. I'm not taking this little miss anywhere."

Belle nodded slowly as she settled back into her bed and quickly fell asleep after such a long day.

Belle was quite surprised with just how many people came to visit her and Iris once she was cleared to start working at the shop again.

As promised, the fairies had come to grant the new child a gift of vast knowledge so that she may be a bright young lady. It wasn't for a few days that Belle found the small, glowing wand that had been slipped deep into Iris' crib that was clearly meant for the little girl. Belle wasn't sure if she should be happy that the fairies were trying to help the girl with the obvious magic she was to have or if she should be upset that they were trying to expose her to magic so early on in her life.

The dwarves made sure to come by the day after the new family had settled into their new routine, each bearing a small gift of intricately carved toys for the little girl. Each one had received a warm welcome from baby Iris since she had been awake when they had come and they were some of the first people she had gotten to meet. Iris was so happy when the dwarves visited that they had come again the day after and that was when Belle realized that her daughter had taken on an attachment to Leroy and seemed to start crying whenever he stopped holding her or playing with her.

Unlike with the dwarves, Belle was not at all surprised to see just how quickly Iris took a liking to Ruby. The young woman was quite skilled with caring for the newborn whenever Belle had a customer to handle and Belle was quite thankful for the help. She was so thankful, in fact, that she had suggested to Ruby that she become Iris' godmother. Ruby had been ecstatic at the idea and immediately accepted the role with a large kiss to the baby's forehead.

Granny was a very welcomed addition to Iris' life, especially since she seemed to be the only one in town that could answer any of Belle's questions about how to raise her child. Iris seemed to like her as well, but not so much as Ruby or Leroy. When Belle tried to apologize for her daughter preferring to be in Ruby's arms than Granny's, Granny just laughed it off as Iris liking the kindest hearts.

It was during one of those visits in which it seemed everyone had come to see Iris at the same time that Iris did her first bit of magic. Granny, Ruby, and the dwarves were sitting around Belle's small living room with Ruby, Leroy, and Iris on the pristine floor playing with some of Iris's toys as Belle tried to bring in enough tea for all of her guests.

"Iris, let's get you ready for a nap," Belle said, turning from placing the tea tray down to scoop up her daughter. Iris let out a loud wail at being taken away from her godparents and began crying as Belle tried to carry the squirming child from the room. "I'm so sorry everyone."

"It's alright dear," Granny waved off the apology as she fixed herself some of the tea. "The girl knows what she wants and that's a good characteristic to have in a young woman."

"She isn't a young woman yet, Granny," Belle said, chuckled slightly as she tried to settle the still squirming and crying girl into her arms. "And she won't be for many years."

Belle almost let out a cry of shock when she felt that her arms had nothing in them except for Iris' blanket. She looked around frantically before spotting the little girl on her stomach by her toys once more. All of the adults in the room seemed to be frozen where they were as the little girl happily played and made noises.

"Did she just-?" Ruby couldn't seem to finish her question as Belle slowly strode forward to pick up her daughter once more.

"She did," Belle confirmed, looking at the baby worriedly. "She shouldn't be doing magic so young. She doesn't even know the consequences of doing magic."

"Maybe there isn't a price for kids doing magic?" one of the dwarves suggested nervously.

"Magic always has a price," Belle said firmly, vowing to talk to Mother Superior about this and to see if Rumple could help whenever he next called her. "We have to keep her from doing magic at all costs."