Thank you so much for your reviews. Love to read your opinions and thoughts about the story: Grace5231973 , thedoctorsgirl42 , jjxox8d , vanillaface , dragonrose21 , Tenarus

I do not own Once Upon a Time

Chapter 11 – Day 6: Live on,remember the dead

Tomorrow did arrive. Despite the strange feeling of loss, Baelfire woke up feeling a bit better. He listened to the sound of his father's regular heartbeat and deep breathing. He smiled, feeling safe. He wished he could lie like this forever. But Baelfire knew time would not freeze and this moment of happiness was just fleeting. The teenager was growing fast for his own good. He was quickly learning that things in life weren't granted nor forever.

He lifted his head to see his father's face. Despite the night of rest, he was still pale and black rings were forming under his eyes. Baelfire had seen his father like this before and it wasn't good. He would be surprised if Rumpelstiltskin could walk today. He sensed Belle stirring a bit further, slowly waking up from her slumber. When her gaze met Baelfire's, she gave him a tender smile.

"Morning. Are you feeling better?" She asked. The boy gave a small smile and nodded. "And your father?" The smile faded right away and was replaced by an expression of concern.

"I think he's sick." He regretfully said. "But he'll never admit it. Only when he cannot bear it anymore."

"The stubborn type?" Baelfire nodded. Belle looked thoughtful for a moment. "Come on, let's have breakfast."

Rumpelstiltskin woke up with Baelfire and Belle's voices far away. He felt weary and weak. But his mind told him he had to force his body to move. He sat up, not looking well at all. To be true, he didn't feel well at all. His head ached, his leg was painfully numb and he could feel cold shivers running through his body. Still he refused Baelfire's plea to rest, as well as Belle's insistence to do so. But when he got up, a sharp pain run through his left leg and he screamed of agony, collapsing from the throbbing. Baelfire and Belle quickly helped him lay down.

"No,no,no…I can't get sick now." He moaned desperately.

"Papa, you really need to rest. Take at least a day off."

"We cannot!" Rumpelstiltskin sounded hopeless. "We're still two and a half days away. We don't have enough food. And we are far from any water source!"

"We'll rationalize, Papa."

"We don't have enough to do that!"

Belle looked at the half empty bag and water cans. Two for three people. They had only taken enough cans for them. Rumpelstiltskin had spent all his gains from the wool in bread and fruit that were by now quickly disappearing. She suddenly understood the reason Rumpelstiltskin wanted so badly to make the most miles per day and felt guilty she was eating and drinking their share. He was the whole time worried about the food and water supplies.

"Rest at least the morning. Maybe you'll feel better in the afternoon." She suggested.

Rumpelstitskin seemed to be more at peace with the idea of traveling half a day than nothing at all. Belle doubted he would manage to walk in the afternoon, but at least he was calming down. His breathing was stabilizing and he closed his eyes surrendering into exhaustion. Baelfire and Belle weren't surprised to notice him falling back to sleep almost immediately. The teenager placed his hand on his father's temple.

"He's a bit warm. And his hands are cold." He worriedly said. They looked at one and other and knew they could to nothing but wait.

The morning was spent in silence, each lost in their thoughts. Baelfire was, for the first time in his life, questioning the meaning of life, of death and of existence itself. Belle, on the other side, was growing concerned about the war. Yesterday's scenario had been absolutely frightening. There was still smoke rising up, although it was less now. And there was the question about her father sending children to war. She needed to find out more about the subject. She truly could not believe her father, the king, could give such orders.

She looked at Rumpelstiltskin. His condition would delay their travel, but she had not the heart to separate from them before entering Snowland. Belle feared the longer it took to get to King Leopold, the more deaths and chaos there would be. Alas, there was nothing she could really do. She admitted dejectedly that she would never find her way on her own, even more, survive alone in a forest.

Before noon, Baelfire decided to go hunting again and Belle accompanied him once more. While they walked, Belle remembered yesterday's talk with Rumpelstiltskin.

"Your father told me yesterday that you run away." She announced casually, hoping she wouldn't disturb the boy with the subject.

"He did? And did he tell you why?" The boy sounded gladly surprised. Finally his father had the guts to tell her the truth. "I know he means well. And I know he's terrified about losing me…but I just can't stop thinking that…that we could have made the difference!"

"You probably would have been all killed." Belle said.

"Still, I think we should have stayed."

"Well, you cannot change the past... But hey! I'm happy you run away, otherwise we would never have met!"

Baelfire seemed to cheer up with the thought and smiled, some of his boyish happiness returning. Suddenly a partridge flew just before them. They were startled at first but then Baelfire run to the place the bird came from and found a nest full of eggs.

"Eggs! We are having eggs for lunch!" He yelled gloriously and picked them carefully.

Belle smiled; glad she didn't need to see another rabbit being slaughtered. Baelfire and Belle chatted their way back to the camp and were surprised to see Rumpelstiltskin already sitting up. He looked a bit better, having more color on his face. His eyes still showed signs of tiredness, but they were at least clear and alive again. Baelfire proudly presented the eggs and Rumpelstiltskin seemed to be pleased with the change of menu.

"Smells good." He said, while Baelfire made omelet. "Can't remember the last time we had eggs for lunch."

"You're hungry?" The boy asked hopefully and could have burst of happiness when his father nodded. Maybe he was not as sick as he thought. Maybe all his father needed was a good rest.

"I want to try and carry on after lunch." He said, putting his omelet inside his bread. "I'm feeling better now, best make the most of it." And indeed, part of the aching in his leg was gone. He could support on it now, the pain had become bearable again. So, after lunch, he commanded the start of their walk. The travel was made in deep silence, thoughts about loss of friends still being worked out. At a certain point, Baelfire walked next to his father.

"Papa, do you believe in Heaven?" Rumpelstiltskin continued walking slowly, pondering his son's question.

"I don't know if there is a Heaven and a Hell, Bae. But I do believe in the Afterlife." He gently spoke.

"So you don't believe what clerics preach?"

"If you mean that some people will life eternally in a wonderful place, while others are condemned to suffer forever. No, I do not believe in that."

"Why not?"

"It's too unfair. Everybody already suffers in this Earth, one way or another." Baelfire seemed to take his father's words in consideration.

"What do you think happens when we die?" Rumpelstiltskin sighed heavily. His son was making questions he had no answer to. Questions nobody had an answer to.

"I think…people do get awarded or punished accordingly to what they did during life…Maybe life goes on after our bodies die, only differently."

"Do you think they are sad too? For being dead?"

"Maybe." Rumpelstiltskin was worried. Baelfire was living many turbulent events in a very short time. He knew the boy would grow up quicker from now on. It was an irreversible consequence. Baelfire's concept of the reality was being shaped and modeled right now and would be his basis for the rest of his life. What he thought the world was three days ago had already changed. He regretted the fact his son was being forced to lose his childish innocence so soon and entering fast in the complicated word of adult's worries. "But I think they too feel sad for those who stay behind." Baelfire stared at his father wondering.

"You mean, you think they can see us?" His father nodded. "Do you think they are with us?" Rumpelstiltskin stopped. He looked at his son thoughtfully.

"Bae, I'm telling you something I've never told anybody." Baelfire's eyes widened a bit of excitement and Belle felt wrong being there. It was not her place to hear a secret being shared between father and son. So she walked a bit ahead, until she was at a non-hearing distance. Rumpelstiltskin and Baelfire meanwhile, were pacing slowly again. "When Angie died… It felt like this huge hole had appeared in my soul. Like a part of me had died with her. Do you understand what I mean?" Baelfire nodded vigorously, anxious to hear was his father was going to reveal to him. "I don't remember well the first week after she passed away. It's all a strange blur. I do know I wandered around without any purpose, barely ate and all I wanted to do was sleep. My parents were afraid I would become ill and be the next one to go… I missed her so bad that her absence was all I could think about. Then one day,I was sitting by the river and I wasn't even thinking about her. But suddenly I felt her, Bae. I could feel her presence. I looked around and saw nobody, but I was so certain she was there with me that moment. Like if she was sitting right next to me. And then I realized, she wasn't really gone. I just couldn't see her anymore."

"Do you still feel her?"

"Sometimes. Always when I least except." Baelfire stared with some admiration at his father. "You see Bae, sometimes we let ourselves sink so deep in our sorrows that we forget to live. And that's something our loved ones do not wish for us. It's okay to be sad, but it's also okay to move on." Baelfire stopped a while looking at his father full of respect. His words felt so true, so painful and yet so comforting. They made him feel better and they filled his heart with hope again. Rumpelstiltskin seeing his son halted, turned around. "Are you all right?" Baelfire smiled affectingly and walked up to give his father a hug.

"I love you, Papa."

They only stopped by nightfall. It had been a triumph for Rumpelstiltskin to endure his aching leg for so long. He had succeeded to hide his growing suffering from his son and Belle. For this afternoon had been an illusion. He felt now sicker than in the beginning of the day. The dizziness had returned, also the chills and he felt nauseous. He barely managed to eat his share of bread and dried fruits. But he forced the food in and acted the same way as in any ordinary day. He could feel the tremors in his body and knew he would soon become feverish. But he remained silent and laid down right after diner, not giving a chance for Baelfire or Belle to notice the critical development of his condition. Besides, all he truly wanted was to sleep away. His last thoughts, before unconsciousness took him over, were that they still had two days ahead. And with this, Rumpelstiltskin fell into a restless sleep haunted by the faces of dead ones.

I loved writing this chapter.

By the way, Angie is a fictional non-OUAT character, my creation. Later on, I will reveal who she is and why she was so important for Rumpelstiltskin. For now, you can try to guess :)

Let me know what you think about this chapter/story and the way it's developing. Review