Chapter Seven: To Be a Mother
It took her less than a minute to arrive at her destination for her speed was greatly enhanced by the vampire cells but to likely prove to her that he could just poof where he wanted to be, Rumplestiltskin took Jennifer's hand and she'd arrived inside it with minimal problems. It was awfully dark to anyone who didn't have her night vision, and owing to this, she'd brought candles from the village and placed them in the candle holders around the floor of the cavernous home. Shadows danced along the thick echoing walls; Rumplestiltskin watched Jennifer lie down on her pelt, and her eyes warranted the invitation he had hoped for.
"Do you have to stay here?" Rumplestiltskin asked, looking at the cavern's ceiling; sometimes, when it rained, Jennifer said the water would drip from the stalactites. Hardly befitting for his love interest.
"It's the only place I can go," Jennifer returned tiredly, sitting up. "The sun doesn't come in through any windows or doors, and no man or woman would venture into a dark cave."
"No smart person would," Rumplestiltskin muttered, glancing at the entrance with a look then looking back at her; the expression on her face was mischievous, so he questioned it: "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"If I didn't know any better," Jennifer mewed, "I would say you're becoming awfully protective of me."
He joined her on the pelt, saying, "Well, a man has to protect what belongs to him."
"Does he?" she teased.
He lifted the index finger of his right hand and traced her jaw from her earlobe to her chin as he uttered lowly, "Yes...he does."
"Well, you needn't worry," Jennifer sighed, smiling. "I chose this cave because of its location and its enormity. Most people who value their self-preservation tend not to enter where they know they are unwelcome." She leaned back on her elbows, smirking at him: "I've been at this game for quite some time; people aren't accustomed to sacrificing themselves just to get a look at the monster."
"You're no monster," Rumplestiltskin said.
"In your opinion," Jennifer pointed out.
He gave her a look and she returned it sardonically. After a moment, he rolled his eyes. This woman could be a real tease—both sexually, and a jester.
"Besides, as I said," Jennifer stated, "the sun doesn't come through the walls and there are not any windows for it to come through either."
"You know, that's a puzzling thing," Rumplestiltskin pointed out. "I have never seen a vampire burst into flame in the sunlight."
"Most people aren't taken to the idea of experimenting," Jennifer reasoned. "And neither am I."
"Any close calls?" Rumplestiltskin asked.
"A few—but I haven't ever burst into flames." Jennifer returned. "Technically, that isn't what happens."
"Then what?" he questioned.
Jennifer smirked at him, saying, "Why such fierce curiosity?"
"If possible," Rumplestiltskin told her, "I'd rather have you living with me—not in this cave, out in the open."
"It's not in the open."
"Not the point," Rumplestiltskin responded quickly.
Jennifer continued to smirk at him, saying, "Fine. I will tell you what happens to vampires when they walk into the sunlight. But I don't see what good it will do."
"Why not?"
"Because I have been in your cottage, Rumple. You have no basement or anything in which I can sleep and the windows and doors let in all kinds of sunlight. Let's not even mention the roof."
"Well, Dearest, you just mentioned it," Rumplestiltskin said.
"You know what I mean."
"I can fix that, you know."
"How."
"Dark One," Rumplestiltskin reminded, indicating himself. "I have a lot of power. I can give you anything you could possibly desire. A room of your choice, a better cottage or, if you prefer...a cave without a leaky ceiling."
Jennifer laughed at the last, which obviously had been intended for that purpose alone. Her laugh seemed to echo along the walls and bounce to and fro, but the sound made Rumplestiltskin smile, satisfied that he had humored her.
"A basement would be more fitting," Jennifer suggested. "No windows. The darker, the better."
"Living in a world without any light for save the moon, I thought you'd like a few candles to light your way," Rumplestiltskin told her, smiling at the pun.
"I sleep best in darkness—as does anyone." Jennifer told him.
"Then that is what I will give you. Now," Rumplestiltskin stated, "tell me what happens when you are exposed to sunlight."
Jennifer moved closer to him as he lied on his side so he faced her. She held her palm up to him and he took it so their fingers interlaced together. As they spoke, he searched her eyes, becoming lost to their human blue color, lost in their depth as she only looked at him with more trust and love than he could have ever hoped for. As Jennifer spoke, she relished the moment of intimacy, sharing parts with her that she had long ago felt would never be understood, never the less, loved.
"In the first few minutes, the skin burns," Jennifer whispered. "It starts to look like a sunburn—whatever amount of skin is being exposed, it first turns red, and burns like hell."
"Speaking from experience?"
Jennifer nodded, saying, "I was several miles from this cave when I lost track of time. Sun came up and I was covered—head to toe—with sunburns. It hurt like a bitch." She continued.
"In a few hours," she said, "blisters form, and they pop, and from those places, more blisters form and do the same thing, creating craters too large and deep for the skin to heal, to regenerate. I hear it is excruciatingly painful. And when we've been in the sun for something like eight hours or so, our skin kind of flakes, falls off, and our muscles start to bleed out underneath, charring until we are left with nothing but our bones and a burnt corpse."
Rumplestiltskin stared at her.
"You have an interesting way of describing the most horrific things in life," Rumplestiltskin muttered.
"'Interesting', how?" Jennifer asked.
"Just..." Rumplestiltskin struggled to explain but how could he tell her that her voice would become sultry as she explained such a horrific death. Her voice had a way of deepening to such seductive soft volumes and being laced with that natural lust for horror that it penetrated Rumplestiltskin's very core.
"Interesting," Rumplestiltskin returned, unable to explain it.
Jennifer smirked, saying, "If I didn't know better, I would think you liked my vampire side."
"Not just that," Rumplestiltskin returned. "I adore it. It makes you who you are."
"And that doesn't put you off?" Jennifer asked.
"Why would it?" he responded, chuckling. "After all, I am the one that asked for the details."
"You did ask," Jennifer noted. "And was it everything you hoped it would be?"
Rumplestiltskin returned, "Better."
"Oh? How was it bet—"
Rumplestiltskin cut her off by kissing her and after she recovered from the surprise, she kissed him back.
"What were you saying?" Rumplestiltskin asked.
"Um..." Jennifer began. "Nothing—I wasn't asking anything."
"Good," Rumplestiltskin replied, kissing her again.
She giggled when he waved his hand, and all the candles were snuffed out simultaneously.
000
Rumplestiltskin was true to his word when he told her he'd create a basement for her. Underneath the cottage, along with the other homey improvements, he created a cellar. As promised, he made sure no sunlight would leak through the walls or the cellar door that was created to allow her to come in from the outside. He enchanted a lock where only she would be able to open it—Rumplestiltskin had the ability to transport himself inside without a key, and if Jennifer was feeling a little ferocious, Baelfire would be unable to enter and risk exposing himself to her monstrous side—or anyone else for that matter.
In the cellar, Rumplestiltskin provided Jennifer with a bed, fireplace, a table with two chairs, and a few decorations that made it more inhabitable for a human than a vampire. When Jennifer had come out of the cave a night later, he surprised her with the cellar. With him was Baelfire, who looked at Jennifer with a kind smile. He'd interacted with her a few more times since the incident with Hordor, but normally, he would prefer drawing alone and keeping to himself. Evidently, he wasn't as happy as Rumplestiltskin made him out to be, but Jennifer said nothing. Baelfire had to be in the cottage by himself quite frequently for Rumplestiltskin kept a protective close eye on him as much as he did for her.
And while Jennifer found it charming and sweet, Baelfire seemed to feel more trapped and isolated. Jennifer gave him a light smile when Rumplestiltskin used magic to light the cellar so his son could see just what a wonderful job he had done with the place. Jennifer thanked Rumplestiltskin and kissed him on the cheek, while Baelfire instantly turned away, shyly looking anywhere he could.
"No windows, no sunlight," Rumplestiltskin told her. "What do you think?"
"Homey," Jennifer mused, sitting on the bed. She gave Baelfire a smile and she bounced on the bed.
"What are you doing?" Rumplestiltskin asked.
"I thought maybe I would test the bounce," Jennifer returned.
"Why?"
"Because I wanted to jump on it. Weeee!" Jennifer said, suddenly standing on her bed and jumping up and down.
Baelfire snorted with laughter, amused by her spontaneity. Jennifer giggled and said, "Come on, Baelfire. You know you want to do it."
Baelfire shook his head, but his laughter continued.
"You're only fourteen," Jennifer encouraged while Rumplestiltskin stared at her as though she had gone mad, "You're only young once!"
Rumplestiltskin watched Baelfire take her advice and he started jumping on the bed with her. Jennifer tried to goad Rumplestiltskin into jumping too but he only stared at them as though both she and his son had lost their minds. After she realized he wouldn't be joining them and she and Baelfire had started panting from the energy expended, Jennifer hopped off the bed with a flourish. Baelfire giggled when she approached his father, and kissed him on the cheek.
"Don't worry, Rumples," Jennifer mused. "We're still sane."
Baelfire chuckled at the nickname Jennifer gave him. As Jennifer opened the lock, Baelfire giggled, walking out of the cellar with her, while Rumplestiltskin continued to watch them incredulously, but spared no expense trying to figure out what the hell happened. Joining them on level ground, Rumplestiltskin saw Jennifer speaking to Baelfire in what was best described as the living room. Baelfire sat on a chair at the table, while Jennifer was on her knees in front of him, so they could speak at an eye-level.
Rumplestiltskin kept a fair distance away so they thought he was still in the cellar.
"I want to go outside and play with the other children," Baelfire uttered sadly.
Her soft voice uttered, "You know he's only keeping you here to protect you, right?"
"Yeah, but I feel more trapped than protected." Baelfire admitted unhappily.
"It's not so bad," Jennifer offered. "You could be in a cave."
Baelfire gave her a look conveying confusion and she said dismissively, "Er...nevermind. Look...just try to understand, okay? He's the Dark One now...a lot of people can misunderstand..."
"What's to misunderstand?" asked Baelfire, looking away from her. "He hurts a lot of people now. Sometimes, for no reason."
"He has his reasons," Jennifer offered.
"I'm sure he does," Baelfire muttered, unconvinced.
Jennifer pushed back his hair from his forehead with a loving sweeping gesture, her hands cupping his small face. Her eyes searched his and when he finally looked at her, she said gently, "Your father loves you, Bae. He loves you more than anything or anyone in this world."
"Even...Even you?" asked Baelfire quietly.
Jennifer must have looked at him, puzzled, because he said, "I've seen the way you two are together—even when you think I am not looking or you think I'm asleep."
Rumplestiltskin watched Baelfire smile knowingly.
"You talk to each other like you've known one another for ages."
"Baelfire, your father and I..."
Baelfire smiled saying, "You love each other."
Jennifer nodded, saying, "I love your father a great deal."
"And he loves you more." Baelfire stated.
"And how do you know that?" asked Jennifer quietly.
"He hurts everyone else," Baelfire whispered. "Everyone we've ever talked to or had dealings with in the past. He hurts them—sometimes he kills them. But he's done nothing to you, like he's done nothing to me. And I know why—he loves me. But he's done more for you than me."
"That's not true," Jennifer uttered. "Baelfire, you hold a place in his heart that no one—not even I—will ever be able to replace. You're his son, love. And you mean the world to him."
"Then why won't he let me go out with the other children?" asked Baelfire.
"Because he doesn't want to lose you."
"He wouldn't lose me," Baelfire responded strongly. "I love Papa."
"I think he has a hard time understanding," Jennifer said lightly, "that we have to let the people we love go so they can come back, and love us even more. And he's simply afraid of losing you. Most people fear for the safety of their children—the physical safety—but he's more afraid someone will take you."
"But I'm in here all the time," Baelfire reasoned. "How can anyone take me?"
"Not your body, Bae," Jennifer chuckled. She touched Baelfire's chest, whispering, "Your love."
"So why can't you leave?" asked Baelfire.
"I can leave."
"To that cave," Baelfire answered. "But now you're going to be staying in the cellar. You'll be trapped here too, just like me."
Jennifer sighed. This child was hard to explain anything to. She stood when he seemed no longer interested in anything more she had to say; he simply went back to his drawings. Jennifer heard the kettle whistling over the fire, so she moved to the kitchen, taking it off and placing it on the table. She heard shifting of movements and clothes. Only natural that Rumplestiltskin had appeared beside her.
Jennifer looked up at him to see that he was clearly troubled.
"You heard him, didn't you?" asked Jennifer, knowingly.
"I heard you both," he replied.
Jennifer shrugged saying, "I tried explaining it to him, Rumple. But he's not exactly happy and unhappy children make it hard to explain anything to them."
Rumplestiltskin nodded, watching her pour tea into three cups. As she meant to add sugar and such to it, he stopped her by placing a hand on her arm. Curious as to his intentions, Jennifer looked up at him to meet his eyes. He seemed as though he was needing to talk, or at least to get something off his chest.
"Rumple?" she said gently.
"You don't feel...trapped...here, do you?" asked Rumplestiltskin.
"Of course not. I feel..." she searched for the word "I feel safe. I always feel safe around you."
"Even when I'm hurting people?" he asked.
"I hurt people too," Jennifer admitted pointedly. "I think we can agree that the both of us have done things we are not proud of in order to protect the people we love...and ourselves."
"Baelfire is unhappy," Rumplestiltskin declared sadly. "I've tried giving him everything—a new home" (he indicated the cottage) "new drawing utensils, better clothes, a better life...I don't know how to make things better between us."
"Baelfire feels trapped," Jennifer consoled.
"But you said..."
"I feel safe," Jennifer clarified. "However, I have become accustomed to isolating myself from other people. A large crowd makes me nervous; Baelfire has never experienced the feelings of isolation, so he feels 'trapped'. Beautiful birds are not meant to stay in cages, Love."
"I don't know what to do," Rumplestiltskin declaring, shaking his head, twisting his face into one of frustration and helplessness.
Jennifer moved closer to him, offering consolation.
"Give him your trust," Jennifer offered.
Rumplestiltskin stared at her, perplexed.
"He wants to play with other children," Jennifer explained. "Give him your trust."
"But I may lose him."
"The things we love are never lost—they always come back to us." Jennifer whispered; she lifted her hand to his face, grazing his cheek with the back of her hand with a soft and gentle caress. "Just as I will always come back to you. So will he."
Rumplestiltskin muttered, "I almost lost him before. That's the whole reason why I took the Dark One's power. So I can protect him, always...And I have seen the devastation of parents when they know they've lost their children forever. I can't allow that to happen..." He mentioned the parents who'd never seen their children again after Hordor had come to collect them.
"Baelfire loves you, Rumple. He'd never leave you," said Jennifer kindly.
"How do you know?" asked Rumplestiltskin.
"If my parents gave me as much protection, love, and understanding as you've given to keep him close to you," Jennifer uttered sweetly, "I would have never left."
"You turned into a vampire—and your parents feared you." Rumplestiltskin pointed out. "People are afraid of things they do not understand. That's their mistake—on a list of many."
"Then don't make the same mistake my parents made," Jennifer offered.
The confusion reappeared on Rumplestiltskin's face again and she clarified.
"Don't drive him away...not when he needs you most," she uttered, glancing back to see Baelfire, lowering his head on the table on top of his crossed arms.
Rumplestiltskin looked at Jennifer, then at Baelfire, then back to her. The internal struggle he was having inside of his heart reflected onto his face and he just simply shook his head. He pushed Jennifer's hand from him, saying, "Keeping him close to me is the only way I know he will never be taken."
He walked outside for the fresh air. She watched after him, returning her eyes to the cup of the tea that she suddenly had no desire to drink.
Baelfire appeared at her side suddenly, startling her.
"Did you talk to him?" he asked hopefully.
"I tried," Jennifer returned. She offered him a cup of tea, and he took it politely but seemed as desired to drink it as she.
"I told you," Baelfire pointed out.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Jennifer muttered, rolling her eyes.
"Maybe we can be trapped together," Baelfire said. He suddenly brightened saying, "Do you know how to play 'war'?"
"'War'?" asked Jennifer.
"Instead of swords, we use sticks," Baelfire explained.
"Ah, like sword play," she returned.
"Yeah—you wanna try?"
"I don't know how," Jennifer said.
"I can teach you," Baelfire offered.
Jennifer hesitated, saying, "I don't know if I should."
"Because of the vampire thing?" asked Baelfire.
Jennifer looked at him—the boy spoke his mind, that was sure. Whatever came to his head, came out of his mouth. Jennifer's lack of denial and confirmation set Baelfire on the path to say what he said next.
"I'm not afraid of you anymore, Jennifer," he said quietly. "I was at first, but you were scary back then. You never said anything to anyone because of what you are. So I guess I should be afraid but Papa is the Dark One and if he's protecting me like you say he is, then he wouldn't let someone so dangerous near me. Since you're here..." He walked over to the corner of the house and held out two sticks that were about the size of swords, and walked over to where she still stood.
"Baelfire..." Jennifer muttered.
"Come on—I'll show you." Baelfire encouraged. "It's not hard."
"I'm not exactly in the mood to fight."
"Well, you have anything better to do?" Baelfire remarked.
Well, shit. The kid's got a point. Jennifer thought. She sighed and took the pre offered stick.
"En guarde!" Baelfire immediately shouted, raising his stick to suddenly bat hers away and he did so successfully. He added as a foot note: "That means the duel is starting."
"Thanks for the warning," Jennifer remarked sarcastically, but a smile tugged at her lips.
Obviously, Baelfire saw it too for his eyes twinkled mischievously.
Rumplestiltskin came back in to apologize to Jennifer for leaving so abruptly, but he stopped in place when he saw his son and Jennifer playing 'war' (as the kids called it). Jennifer and Baelfire were going at each other with the stick, hacking and thrusting their 'sword' at one another and Baelfire was parrying while Jennifer came nearest, and then he would come for the attack and she would parry (badly). He then poked her in the stomach.
"I stabbed you!" Baelfire told her.
He leaned in and whispered, "That means you have to pretend you're hurt where I stabbed you. Since it's your belly, you have to kinda lean forward like this."
He did as he said, and Jennifer stated, "That looks incredibly uncomfortable."
"You have no choice," Baelfire instructed, twirling his stick professionally. "You're stabbed."
"That's not fair," Jennifer quarreled playfully.
"Life's not fair. Now..." Baelfire said, aiming the end of the stick at her face, "Prepare for end of the duel!"
"There's an end?" Jennifer questioned.
"Yeah—one of us has to yield, and it will not be me!" Baelfire called out, and he did some flashy movements with the stick, saying, "Because I have been at this a lot longer than you, and I know you've never fought before now, you would have lost anyway."
"Hardly sporting," Jennifer returned, looking at her stick.
"Not the point," Baelfire reminded.
"What must I do?" she surrendered.
"You have to kneel on the ground and then slowly—and I do mean slowly—pretend to die."
Jennifer stared at him, saying, "How exactly do you pretend to die?"
"Haven't you ever played any games before?" Baelfire asked.
"Ironically—most of the games I played did not involve a lot of make-believe," Jennifer offered vaguely.
"Well, this one does," Baelfire stated pointedly, "So you'll have to learn."
"You're really bossy," Jennifer said, pointing her stick at him.
"And you don't know how to die," Baelfire shot back, giggling.
"I do too know how to die," Jennifer took the bait.
"Then do it," Baelfire said.
He made a flourish of his 'sword' and placed it just between her stomach and arm so it appeared to the wandering ignorant eye that she had been run through. Baelfire giggled when Jennifer could barely sell the part of being stabbed, none the less, dying. She made some gargling noises as she slumped forward and lied down on her front, continuing to gargle and make 'ahh' noises.
"You're terrible at this," Baelfire stated, snorting with laughter as Jennifer continued to go 'ahh' and 'bleehhhh'.
"You taught me—what does that say about you?" asked Jennifer.
"You're not supposed to talk—you're dead."
"You'd be amazed how much dead people can talk," Jennifer returned.
"Well you're not one of them—so be quiet," Baelfire remarked with much sass.
Jennifer sighed deeply and closed her eyes, sticking her tongue out. Baelfire placed a foot on top of her back and said loudly, "I have vanquished my foe! Everyone is free to walk in safety!"
Jennifer muttered, "This game was rigged from the beginning."
Baelfire giggled, taking his foot off her back. She sat up, smiling at him.
Meanwhile, Rumplestiltskin, who had watched the whole thing, was leaning against the doorway, a look of amusement and love on his face. He had just watched his son and beloved interact a great deal more than he'd ever witnessed Baelfire with Milah. It was almost as though she was just destined to be his mother. If things had worked out differently, in an alternative world, Baelfire may just have had Jennifer's eyes and biting sarcasm.
Jennifer saw Baelfire look to the door and she saw Rumplestiltskin. Seeing that his presence had been made known, he said, "So Bae beat yet another rival."
"Can't blame her, Papa," Baelfire stated as he watched Rumplestiltskin help Jennifer to her feet. "This was her first fight."
"The beginning of many to come," Jennifer reminded Baelfire, "And it will be the last time you beat me."
"Wouldn't count on it," Baelfire remarked. "I'm the best there is when it comes to playing 'war'."
"For now, little one," Jennifer teased. "For now."
"For now," Baelfire mused and with a devilish grin, added, "And always."
"We'll see about that," Jennifer said with a dangerous tone and when Baelfire stared at her, startled, she suddenly grinned and he made a sigh of relief.
"You got me," Baelfire admitted.
"Bae..." Rumplestiltskin said softly, "you know what time it is."
"I know," Baelfire replied politely. "Bed time. I'll get ready."
"Good boy," Rumplestiltskin commended.
He took the sticks and placed them against the door, then turned to look at Jennifer.
"Thanks for playing with me, Jennifer." He made a bow.
Jennifer, in return, did a little curtsy, bowing her head. Baelfire chuckled as he went to his room. Rumplestiltskin looked at her, a smug little look on his face.
"What?" Jennifer questioned defensively.
"'I can't be a mother'," Rumplestiltskin repeated her words. "From what I have seen, you did wonderfully."
"You saw all of that?" asked Jennifer.
"The better half of it," Rumplestiltskin said. "Your portrayal of a dying performance was a little enlightening."
Jennifer shrugged, saying, "Just because I died once doesn't mean I can't downplay it a little. The kid needed a hearty laugh so I just kinda played the part, you know."
Rumplestiltskin smiled at her when she walked over to the side of the room, taking a stick, and placed the end just underneath the gold shimmering column of his throat. He eyed her curiously and Jennifer whispered seductively, "Maybe one day...you'll let me show you my own bit of warfare."
"Does it involve wooden sticks?" Rumplestiltskin asked, taking it from her.
"War is physical," Jennifer breathed, pulling herself to him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "A little give, a little take. Mostly take..." She moved her hips against him.
Rumplestiltskin placed the stick's pointy end alongside her hip.
"It's going to be hard to take me on with a simple wooden stick and a sharpened point, dearie," Rumplestiltskin whispered.
Jennifer's face was close to his, their lips only a small centimeter from touching. Their hips aligned and pressed against the other; Jennifer could feel the excitement burrowing inside him as a different wooden object was pressed against the heated core between her legs.
"I don't need a stick to win you over, Dark One," Jennifer breathed.
"Is that so?" drawled Rumplestiltskin.
Jennifer pressed her mouth against his upper lip. Their eyes closed to live in the moment as Jennifer dropped her hands along his chest, her fingers leaving a trail of fire while they pressed down through his clothes; she moved one hand along the part of his chest that was exposed, due to the tunic's design and followed the exposed skin inside under the shirt to touch areas of hidden flesh. Rumplestiltskin sighed deeply when her hands left him so she could explore his body downward. Rumplestiltskin smiled at her—although he kept his eyes closed, he didn't need to see her face to know she wanted him; he could feel it in the way her fingers were starting to ravage instead of explore; he could hear her breathing quicken, and against him, he could feel her body radiating heat like mad.
"Wait until Bae is asleep," Rumplestiltskin told her quietly when he heard the sudden backdrop of foot falls coming down the stairs, taking her hands in his so when Baelfire came down, he only saw them together, holding hands and lightly kissing.
Jennifer turned to him, and Baelfire looked taken aback. Rumplestiltskin gazed at him curiously, but saw what frightened him.
"Jennifer," Rumplestiltskin muttered.
She looked at him, perplexed: "What?"
"Your eyes." He said.
They were bright yellow, with the rattlesnake slits.
"Oh..." Jennifer closed her eyes; she inhaled deeply then exhaled softly. When she opened them, they were back to being their usual blue. And Baelfire looked a great deal more relaxed.
"Are you okay?" asked Baelfire, stepping towards her.
"I'm fine," Jennifer returned.
Rumplestiltskin and Jennifer exchanged knowing glances; she had a hard time controlling her little vampire tendencies while under a great deal of intense emotions. Anger was one...and her attraction to Rumplestiltskin seemed to ignite her passions. Rumplestiltskin suppressed a smirk when Jennifer explained that she was just reflecting on a few things and he had nothing to fear.
"Thanks again for playing," Baelfire said gratefully. "You'll get better—I promise."
"With enough practice," Rumplestiltskin coached Jennifer, "You may just be able to disarm him."
"You...you," Jennifer began to retaliate and upon glancing at Baelfire, who was waiting with the same expression as Rumplestiltskin for her to shoot a zinger, she finally said, "You...shut up!"
"Nice," Baelfire giggled.
Jennifer shook her head. She threw her hands up in the air, uttering, "Men..." and Rumplestiltskin and Baelfire glanced at each other before laughing.
In that moment, it seemed as though the feelings of entrapment would have stopped but Baelfire would only continue to feel like this until Jennifer tried to intervene. He'd be happy for a few days, and when things went back to normal—as normal being Rumplestiltskin continuing to terrorize people for either hurting Baelfire on accident or making a catty remark at Jennifer—Baelfire's sadness would resume, his feelings of isolation and entrapment becoming stronger.