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I do not own Once Upon a Time

Chapter 15 – Days 8 and 9: at the wooden house

"How is Papa?" Baelfire asked, as soon he returned, bringing eggs. Hansel and Gretel followed him in with a dead and featherless chicken.

"Exhausted, of course. But he will be okay. Don't worry. All he needs now is a good rest."

"Do you think he will have more fever?" The boy continued, still feeling restless about his father.

"Probably, but it will be less. Eventually, it will fade away. I bet tomorrow he'll be joining us for company. He might not look like it, but your old man is though."Bram reassured, resting his hands on the boy's shoulders. Baelfire believed in the man's words and experience, so he let a sigh of relieve escape his lips and smiled happier. "You look tired too. Go lay down a bit."

Baelfire obeyed and entered the bedroom. He remained a while looking at his father from a distance. He had thanked the gods endlessly for sparing his father's life. He had seen Rumpelstiltskin ill before, but never in such a critical way. For the first time in his life, the teenager actually thought he was losing his father. And the thought of it was too horrendous to bear. It made him feel scared and hopeless. Now that Rumpelstitskin was getting better, Baelfire, more than ever felt blessed and lucky to have him as his father. Rumpelstiltskin always gave him endless and unconditional love and protection. Everything the boy knew, he had learned from this simple man. Rumpelstiltskin was always loyal to his son, as Baelfire was loyal to him. Suddenly, the teenager felt rich. He needed nothing more in his life. His father was all he needed. Baelfire came closer to Rumpelstiltskin's lying figure. His father slept peacefully, free of fever and disturbing dreams. He carefully brushed a lock of hair away and kissed his father's temple.

"Love you, Papa."

Diner was great. The smell of cooked chicken filled the room, making everybody's stomach grumble. It was a modest supper. A soup with a series of things floating in it: chicken, potatoes, carrots, cabbage. But tasty and worthy enough for any lord's banquet. Belle and Baelfire were in high moods. The rest and the food were doing miracles to their bodies and minds. Also Bram and his children were a merry and pleasant company, talking and joking about casual things of their simple lives. After they ate and cleaned the table, the little party carried on with their never-ending chat outside. Belle was mostly silent, but laughed at the stories and jokes switched among the group. They all headed to bed rather late, and Belle was glad Bram didn't have the chance to really talk to her. She felt his stare on her several times and knew he was wondering who and where exactly she came from. Should he ask, she would give him the same answer as she gave Rumpelstiltskin. Only she feared this man wouldn't accept it as easily as his friend did.

Of course, the following day there was no avoiding. Bram's daily routine was doing chores in the morning, with the help of his children, and cutting wood after lunch. But this time he had two extra pairs of hands to help, so they were ready quite early. The children went outside to play, while Bram invited Belle to drink some homemade tea.

"So Linda. How did you get to know our crazy friends?" Belle almost chuckled at the nickname, distracting her only momentarily of her nervousness.

"I was running away at night in the woods and rolled down a hill. They found me and helped me. And since we were kind of heading the same direction, I continued travelling with them."

"Running away of what, if I may ask?" Bram poured some hot tea. The fresh spicy odor was pleasant and relaxing.

"I'm sorry. I cannot tell you." Bram looked a bit aside, obviously wondering what the secrecy was.

"I suppose you didn't tell them either."

"I told them a silly lie, which they obviously didn't buy." She chuckled, remembering how Rumpelstiltskin had spoken about her clean hands and Baelfire's questioning about her ladylike background on their first day. It hadn't been even two weeks ago, and it already felt like months. Bram seemed to consider her answer while he sipped his tea.

"Well, whatever your story might be, you were damn lucky to cross paths with Rumpel and his kid. There are enough bad-intentioned people around that would have taken advantage of a young woman with your looks." Belle nodded, understanding perfectly what he meant. That was exactly Rumpelstiltskin's argument in first place to convince her to travel with them.

"It's funny. We had just met and Rumpelstitskin was already sort of taking care of me." Belle realized smiling, feeling warm inside just from the thought of it. First it had been the stitching of her cut, right away, with no delay. And then the lunch and the safe journey together.

"Yeah, typical Rumpel. He always helps anybody he sees is really in need, without second thought." Bram said, more disapprovingly and anything else. "Keeps forgetting about himself, of course. And then gets all sick and I'm the one who ends up babysitting the bastard." He shook his head in disbelief.

"Do you know him for long?"

"Are you kidding? I grew up with him!" He smiled as he recollected the memories of his childhood." I never forget the day he arrived in our village. I was seven years old. This odd family from the Highlands came to our village looking for better trade opportunities. Small people with dark eyes, tanned skin and a weird way of talking. Nobody could understand them when they were together, their accent heavy, carried with words of dialect." Belle listened to Bram's recounting, curious about the past of Rumpelstiltskin. "The father was always angry, cursing and shouting at everybody, the mother acted like she didn't hear him but when things got out of control, she always found a way of calming him down. And then there were the children: Odete, fourteen years old, Thumbelina was ten, Rumpel was nine and finally little Angie, who was six."

"Three sisters!" Belle gasped. Bram nodded amused.

"Right, the reason he was always away from home. Not to mention his psychotic father. You saw how Rumpel yelled and cursed yesterday?" Belle nodded. "Now imagine that the whole day." Her eyes widened shocked. "Exactly. They still don't get along, Rumpel and his father."

"So…his family?" Belle asked afraid. If they were all at the village…

"They eventually moved to Snowland. I suppose that is where Rumpel is heading. Only one of his sisters still lives. Thumbelina. She got married and has three kids herself."

"What happened to the other two?"

"Angie died first. Poor girl. Got the measles when she was sixteen. It was a tragedy." Bram sadly said. "I swear, if that girl would have lived, she would have been my wife. An angel, she was. Then, years later was Odete. Her first child was born dead and she didn't make it either." Belle gasped shocked. How many tragedies were possible to happen in a family? "Alas, these are common things in life." Bram said, finishing his tea. Then he spoke in a more confidential tone. "Please do avoid talking about this to Rumpel. It's still hard for him, even after all these years. Especially his little sister Angie. He misses her terribly. They had this special bond…Ah, better not to talk about these things at all. Only makes one miserable." Bram concluded, before he got too emotional. "Well, time to prepare lunch."

Bram was busy in the kitchen, cooking; while Belle remained seated, drinking her tea. She was lost in her thoughts. Bram's story about Rumpelstiltskin's past made her both curious and compassionate towards her travel companion. She was completely immersed in Bram's tale, that she forgot all her worries about her identity being discovered and about the war. During her musings, the door of the men's bedroom opened. Belle's eyes widened of happiness when she saw a very sleepy Rumpelstiltskin come out of the room.

"Hey! Look who's back in the word of the living!" Bram cheered, patting his zombielike friend on his back. Rumpelstilstkin smiled tiredly but genuinely. "Yet, you shouldn't be up so soon."

"Just a little while. I'm tired of lying down. How long have I been out anyway?"

"About fourteen hours."

"Really? Feels longer." Rumpelstilskin said as he sat by the table. He greeted Belle with a nod and a smile.

"How do you feel?" Belle asked.

"Like I was overrun by a group of wild boars." He groaned for much of Belle's and Bram's amusement.

"Here, have some tea. You hungry?" Bram gave a piece of bread as Rumpelstiltskin nodded. He looked still pale and tired, but at least he was looking happier. "So, how long are you staying this time?"

"Just till I'm better…Oh, and I have to go to the market. Have some wool to trade."

"I suppose you'll be heading to Kriemont next." Rumpelstiltskin nodded in confirmation. "Planning on starting from the ground?"

"I doubt it. It depends on him." Rumpelstiltskin chucked.

"How long did you manage to be together without fighting the last time?"

"About an hour and a half." Rumpelstiltskin complained. He looked at Belle and saw her expression of wonder. "I have a sweet father." He sarcastically said. Bram had apparently not exaggerated. Rumpelstiltskin sipped his tea without adding a word to the subject. An awkward silence fell, the only sound to be heard was the cutting of vegetables.

"Uhm, Rumpelstiltskin." Belle started, not enjoying the silence. "I was wondering of the stitches could already be taken out."

"Oh, right." Rumpelstiltskin suddenly remembered. "But I have to see it first." He said shyly, looking at her new outfit.

"It's okay, it's made of two parts." Belle reassured as she came to sit next to the man. She awkwardly lifted her blouse a bit. "Can you see it?"

Rumpelstiltskin hesitated. Part of the cut was under the skirt. He excused himself and lowered it a bit, just enough so the stitched wound was at fully view. Both Belle and Rumpelstiltskin were not at ease. The princess couldn't help flinching a bit at his touch, when he pressed his fingers around the cut to see if it was fully healed. It was not like the first time, when she was fighting against the pain. It felt more like something electric, sending little waves of voltage to her heart. Rumpelstitlskin of course immediately apologized.

"I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" It felt wrong. He was both embarrassed and fascinated. Seeing and touching that soft and creamy skin made his heart beat too fast, making him feel hotter and dizzy.

"No, its okay…Is it healed?"

"Yes, the stitches can come out." He said, sighing heavily. "Bram do you have a scissors?" Bram brought a scissors with a smirk. He noticed how the two behaved rather shyly and discomfited. "Not such a big one, you fool! I cannot cut her stitches with that thing! Don't you have a thinner one?"

"My, my, what are we fussy today." Bram joked. He searched a while in the drawers and came back with a smaller scissors. "Is this one to your satisfaction?" He teased. Rumpelstiltskin looked a bit upset at him and turned to Belle.

"Ready?" The princess nodded and in a few seconds the stitches were free. It didn't hurt all. She only felt a small sensation. "Ah, it healed perfectly. You barely can see it." The man sounded pleased with his own work. "You're free to go, dearie."

Belle got up, thanking him still a bit embarrassed and sat back on her place, opposite to Rumpelstiltskin. He finished his tea, still feeling his face too hot. They switched shy looks and both remained silent. The only sound to be heard were Bram's cooking and their hearts pounding in their ears.

The next chapters will be revealing a bit more about (my version of) Rumpelstiltskin.

I think some questions were answered in this chapter, right?

Thank you for reading. Review :)