A few people were concerned about the whole Grandpa Gold thing... patience peeps, all will be revealed.
Sorry but it's a shorter chapter tonight, I've got a lot on atm.
Some answers and some fluff... I think we need it.
As always please review.
Enjoy
:)
"Belle please, would you just stop" Rumple sighed out turning to face her in exasperation after he locked the door behind them
"Stop what?" she asked playfully bringing her hands behind her back and coming up onto her tiptoes swinging from side to side gently.
"You know what. That... the whole smug thing, it doesn't suit you"
She only beamed wider and gave a giggle "Alright "Grandpa Crocodile" I'll stop for now but you know that I'm just happy for you and who knows, maybe being Junior's new Grandpa can finally unite our families, this thing with Killian has gone on for far too long"
Rumple just sighed as Belle gave one last smile then walked off into the back shop to gather her things so that they could head home, it was late and Rumple was beyond ready for bed.
He turned to grab his cane, hand pausing just above it as an image of him using it on Hook popped into his head...
"Damn you Pirate" he mumbled to himself snatching it up "I will never be free of you now"
He had thought that his plan had been flawless when he had entered the dream world and approached the boy but he supposed he should have known better. The old saying "All Magic Comes With a Price" had never been so relevant.
He thought he had planned everything to the letter but someone somewhere obviously had it in for him. When he had let his essence reside in the boy so that he could pass unnoticed to "help" Hook he had allowed the boy to see just enough of his damaged soul, just enough of his regret to convince him that he deserved a second chance. He had thought that the boy was the answer to all his prayers, he at thought that once Killian Jones "Junior" saw how sorry Hook's Crocodile was for all that he had done the boy would surely tell the Pirate and that would be the first step of many on the long road to getting his dagger back...he needed his dagger back more than anything because if he was right it was now more powerful than it had ever been... but somewhere along the line he had failed to realized that apparently essence was a two way thing and when he had taken his back from the boy he had absorbed some of the child's... innocence shall we say.
And this was how Rumplestiltskin, THE Dark one himself had found himself laughing and giggling like an imbecile all day. He hung his head in shame and let out another long sigh, had he really just promised Emma Swan, the Savior of all people that he would keep her boys safe?
He tipped his head back and sighed again looking up at the ceiling in frustration.
No matter, the boy had played his part, he was not important anymore. I mean who would know if he had or hadn't tried to keep the boys safe if something went wrong? Things happen in life... he couldn't be there all the time, what was he worrying about?
With a sudden intake of breath he headed around the counter and opened the safe, he put the days takings inside and closed it for the night letting a smirk spread over his face when his eyes fell on the penny whistle that he had found in an old box of stuff in the back shop earlier that day... the very penny whistle that Rumple knew had belonged to a certain Pirate's Brother when they were growing up. He picked it up and turned it over in his hand to see the name "Liam Jones" scratched into the paint at the bottom end. He gave another smirk as he thought about how much his "Grandson" was going to love his new whistle, it would put Hook's Birthday present to shame and only add to the boy's restored faith in him.
"What have you got there?" Belle asked as she walked up to his side.
"A gift for the boy, I may head over there tomorrow to give it to him"
"He's already got a whistle, Killian gave him one for his Birthday" Belle said with a frown before turning to look in the display cases "Maybe we can find something else"
"Thank you Belle but this will be sufficient, the boy will be happy with this I am sure" he held it up and showed her the scratched paint and smiled "See?"
Tears formed in her eyes before she just leant over and kissed him sweetly "You are a good man Rumplestiltskin, he will love it"
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"You sure about "Grandpa Crocodile"?" Emma asked with a laugh "I was only kinda teasing when I said it you know"
Junior gave a little nod "I am sure Momma. When I was him... in my dream I mean... I felt how sad he was, he needs a family to show him how much better it is to be good than bad."
"I hope you're right Kid because I meant what I said, he gets one shot. He messes this up and he's in big trouble" Emma said seriously
"Yeah, from me too" Henry added seriously "When it was just me that he messed up with I didn't mind so much but he's not doing that to you, I won't let him"
Junior beamed at that before looking around nervously when he realized that bedtime was nearing "Are you sure that no monsters can get me?"
"We're sure" Emma replied crouching down at his side "But maybe, just for tonight, we can all snuggle in the big bed"
Junior's little face lit up and he gave a gasp pulling P.B. Up to his chin "In Papa's bed?!"
"Hey. It's my bed too you know" Emma laughed then looked at her Mom "That's if Grandma doesn't mind the tight squeeze."
"Mind?" Mary-Margaret scoffed "I'm looking forward to it but what do you say to some hot chocolate first?"
Both boys cried out in joy and Junior pulled himself up onto his knees giving a little bounce on the couch.
"You watch that leg Mister" Emma said tapping his nose with her finger
"It is fine Momma, it feels much better now that the stitches are gone, it is no longer tight"
"Good." She smiled "Now sit your butt down while Grandma and me fix the hot chocolate and someone needs to pick a book... a happy one... not the Hobbit tonight... I don't want troll dreams"
She could hear Henry and Junior laughing as she followed her Mom into the galley, she quickly stuck her head back out the doorway to make sure they had stayed where they were supposed to before pulling out the mirror.
"Dad" she hissed and waited a few seconds before David appeared on the little screen "We're back at the Jolly, how's Hook? Has the Kid woken up yet?"
"Hook's still sleeping and so is the kid" David sighed "How is Junior?"
"Good" Emma replied then chuckled "But Hook is gonna be pissed"
"What? Why? What's happened?" David asked looking nervous
"David calm down" Mary-Margaret cut in "Nothing bad has happened"
"Well that depends on how you look at it" Emma added with a laugh but then gave a slight cough and cringed "I may or may not have half jokingly said that Junior could do with another Grandpa... so... when you get home, uhm, you'll both need to welcome "Grandpa Gold" to the family"
"WHAT?" David snarled "THAT man is NOT going to be Junior's Grandpa, it's bad enough that he's Henry's. Emma, what were you thinking? Hook's gonna freak"
"I know, I know, I already told you, I wasn't thinking but I didn't know at the time that when Gold visited Junior's dream somehow or another Junior kinda saw into Gold's... I don't know... his feelings maybe. Junior says that he knows that Gold is sorry and now he feels that we should all give him another chance. Can you tell Hook when he wakes up"
David suddenly burst out "Not a chance in hell kid, you can call him back yourself. I am NOT getting involved in that conversation"
"Gee...thanks for the support Dad" Emma threw back sarcastically
"Hey, you created the mess, you sort it out" he said with a shrug "I love you kid but THAT was a mistake. Gold cannot be trusted... you know that"
Emma sighed and plonked herself down onto the bench seat "God... what did I do? Killian is gonna have a melt down"
David suddenly sighed too and shook his head "I'll get him to call you as soon as he wakes up but being honest" his eyes left the screen and looked off into the distance "I don't think that's gonna be tonight. He's had a rough couple of days and Tala seems to have done something to him to knock him out." he suddenly frowned and changed the subject "Talking of Tala, have you spoken to Tiger Lily yet?"
"Oh God, no I haven't. With everything that's been going on I totally forgot" Emma moaned sagging against the table at the realization.
Mary-Margaret's hand slid across her shoulder and settled on her neck "Don't worry, I'll call them in the morning and see if they want to come over for lunch. It'll do Junior good to see Rapha again and once the boys are settled playing we can tell Tiger Lily the good news"
"Thanks Mom" Emma said with a smile before looking back to her Dad "Has the kid woken at all?"
"He's been in and out but he's not making any sense when he is awake" David again looked off into the distance "He's running a high fever and Lark is concerned... which make me worried. If Lark can't fix this I don't know if the Kid is gonna live or not, he looks awful"
"Lethargic, heavy limbs, muscle cramps, nausea?" Emma asked
"Pretty much" David replied with another sigh "I told Lark what you said but he didn't know what potassium was and we don't have any bananas so I'm at a loss"
"Potatoes, fish, dark leafy greens, beans, mushrooms, avocados... they're all high in potassium, I know because we've got to make sure Junior eats plenty of them over the next few days. Please tell me you have something that you can use"
David smiled "Potatoes... by the bucket load, I'll get right on it"
"OK, thanks Dad. We gotta go, it's getting late. I guess I'll talk to you in the morning... you know once Hook has..." She paused not quite believing how stupid she had been then burst out "Oh my God, he's gonna hate me"
"He's not going to hate you Emma" David replied before giving a long groan and dropping his head "I must be out of my God damn mind" he gave another sigh and looked back up at the mirror "I'll talk to him for you ... But you owe me kid, big time"
"REALLY?" Emma cried out "Thanks Dad, you're the best"
"Yeah well, just remember that on my Birthday" he chuckled "Go to bed. I love you guys so much"
"Love you too" Emma and Mary-Margaret replied in unison, then he was gone.
Emma looked up to see that her Mom had already started to make the hot chocolate which was just as well because the kids were starting to get antsy, she could hear them yelling and laughing back in the hold. They were supposed to be winding down not getting hyperactive just before bed time but she wasn't about to tell them off, she was just happy that Junior was relaxed enough to enjoy himself, it could have been so much different after what happened right here in his own bunk room.
Nearly an hour later at nearly eleven pm they were all settled in the bed, Junior was already yawning as Henry started to read "James and the Giant Peach". Emma closed her eyes as the story unfolded until somewhere around the point where James found the peach growing in the garden when she suddenly screamed...
"OH MY GOD JUNIOR, YOUR FEET ARE LIKE BLOCKS OF ICE, GET THEM AWAY FROM ME"
The sleepy tiredness that had been descending on them all disappeared in an instant as chaos ensued. Junior was squealing loudly when suddenly both Emma and Henry decided that the kid needed a good tickling but then the tables turned when Grandma saved the day and Henry switched sides, the turncoat. It was Emma's turn to be squealing now as tears flowed down her cheeks, she could barely breathe there were too many hands tickling the life out of her.
"STOP" she yelled "I'M GONNA PEE THE BED THEN YOU'LL ALL BE SORRY"
The tickling stopped quickly after that and they all lay breathing heavily on the bed, Emma was grinning form ear to ear thinking back to the last tickle fight that she had had and how Hook had declared that he was at a disadvantage due to his lack of digits. She gave a contented sigh and rolled over onto her side pulling Junior into her front.
"Just you wait" she giggled "When your Papa gets home he'll be on my side, just you wait and see"
Junior and Henry both grinned but Mary-Margaret groaned playfully "Does this mean we have to have ANOTHER tickle fight?"
"AYE" Junior yelled out "Grandpa already told me that the tickle monster was going to get me when he came back... but I don't mind that monster, he is fun"
Emma snuggled into Junior and sighed "I think we've had enough for tonight though Kid, I think it's time to go to sleep"
He gave a nod so Emma turned to reach behind her to flick off the light. She gave the mirror that she'd left on the dresser one last look before hitting the switch leaving only the soft glow of Junior's repaired lamp to take away the darkness.
Emma pulled the kid in closer and whispered right by his ear "You're safe Junior, safe and loved. Go to sleep kid"
He snuggled in closer and was asleep in minutes letting out little snores against P.B.'s head but as Emma lay there she realized that something was jabbing her in the ribs every time she moved. She shuffled about a bit digging down under the covers trying to get whatever it was.
"What are you doing?" her Mom whispered and when she looked to the side it was to see both Henry and her Mom's eyes reflecting the lamp back at her in the darkness.
"Sorry, hang on" she hissed back digging a bit deeper but seconds later when she pulled Duck Face out and held him up the three of them were fighting back silent giggles, who the hell takes a rubber duck to bed? Junior, that's who.
She had literally just managed to get herself back under control when Henry had them laughing again when he whispered.
"Quack quack arrrrrr"