One beautiful, sunshiny day, a baby was born. She was small but already had a head full of beautiful brown hair the same color as her eyes. As her father looked into her shining eyes, he could also see the light dimming from her mothers. He choked up, and hugged her, afraid of what that might mean. When he let go, she told him not to worry, she IS in doctors care after all. "They've got to either know what's wrong or be smart enough to figure it out, baby." She said with a small smile. "Speaking of baby, I'd like to name her Belle." "Belle… I like the sound of that. A beautiful name for a beautiful girl by the most beautiful woman in the world." He agreed. She blushed and settled more comfortably in her bed. "I'm just… really tired baby. I need sleep." And she closed her eyes. At that time, a nurse walked in, grabbed Belle to clothe her, and asked the baby's name. "Belle. Thank you." Her father told the nurse, and she left cooing with Belle and keeping her quiet and happy. Maurice turned to his wife, held her hand, and felt it go limp. He called for a nurse, for a doctor, for anybody. After a few moments, everyone came running in. But by the time they got there, it was too late. She would no longer be tired. Maurice kissed her forehead and started crying softly. He promised on that day that he would be smart enough that Belle would never suffer, for he believed that if the doctors were smarter or faster, they would have caught her fading away before it was too late. As he held his face in his hands, crying softly, the nurse who took Belle to be clothed came back. "Is now not a good time?" She asked. "It's as good a time as any." He said, trying to sort himself out. When she was handed to him, he looked into her big brown eyes, and promised then that he would be the best parent he could be, and promised to love her enough for the both of them.

A few days later, across the kingdom, another baby was being born, this one to nobility. Doctors crowded around the queen's bed, nurses crowded them with hot water bowls and towels and anything else the doctors asked for. What the doctors had hoped would be a quick procedure turned into four and a half hours of panting and cleaning, and yet no baby came. A couple of the doctors started getting worried that the baby would not come, but one doctor knew of a procedure where he would cut open the queen's stomach, retrieve the baby, and then sew her up. "So far…" He started. "It has only been performed three times throughout history. The first, of course, with no proper resources and research, both the mother and child died. The second both of them did not. And the third, the mother had complications and health risks but signed up to do it anyway. We lost her but we saved the baby." The queen took all this information in. "Are you expecting me to choose between cutting my baby out and continuing this way which is yielding no results? Of course, cut my baby out. But I swear to the heavens above that if you hurt my baby…" "Yes ma'am, Your Majesty, we understand. We need you to sign this paper please. It's new. It says that if anything goes wrong, you can't throw us all in jail for we tried to do our jobs to the best of our ability." A howling scream came from the queen's lips as she felt a bout of pain, but still no baby. "Of course." She said through gritted teeth. "Just give me the damned paper." And she signed. Another three hours later, and they were stitching her back up after a successful procedure. When they were done, she asked to hold her baby. "Well. He's wrinkly and grumpy, just like my late grandfather, Adam, whom I loved dearly. I think I was his favorite grandchild. So, I wish to name you Adam, in honor of him. And I promise to love you, more than I loved him, for you are mine, little one." And she held him in her arms, humming a song from her childhood and slowly falling asleep. When she did fall asleep, a nurse came and took Adam and covered her up.

FAST FORWARD SIX MONTHS

Belle was learning to walk, holding Maurice's hand. In the other hand, was a small robot hand, to keep her balanced. She let go of the robot's hand and felt a little wobbly but still kept steady. Then she looked up at her papa. "It's alright, little one. You can do it." He said. And she let go. She got about several steps across the room before she tripped over the piece of carpet that was flipped up. Over the next two weeks, every time that Belle went to play outside, he was laying carpet from wall to wall so that would never happen again. One day, while she was playing with the robot, as Maurice made dinner, she stood up with help from the robot, and then started running, saying "Ca' ma. Ca' me." The robot was programmed for walking and running but more for in a straight line, so as Belle ran in circles, the robot crashed into the wall. As Maurice knew what his daughter wanted, he ran after her, threatening to catch her in between laughs. Then she ran under the bed, giggling. He stirred the pot one more time, then went over to the bed. "Hmm… I see some cute little toes. I wonder what would happen if I just…" He said as he started tickling Belle's feet. She squealed with laughter under the bed and as soon as he let go of her foot, she popped up from one of the other sides of the bed and tried to tickle his armpits. He laughed, even though he wasn't ticklish. And then grabbed her hands and put them around his shoulders, and scooped her up in his arms. Then he went to stir the pot once more. The food was done. And Belle 'helped set the table' by putting a spoon and fork at each place setting. No knives for her as her papa always cut up her food before bringing it to the table. After food was done and the table was set, they ate a good hearty meal, and then fell asleep reading a bedtime story.

Adam was learning to walk, with the aid of Mrs. Potts while his parents were on a diplomatic voyage. "Mama?" Adam asked Mrs. Potts, for she was the only mother figure he's known, and she never corrected him in fear of breaking his little heart. "Yes, my sweet?" "Num-num." Came his response. Mrs. Potts said, "Ok. Then we need to walk to the kitchen. Can you do that with me?" To which Adam replied with a loud "Yeeeesssss." They walk down the hall and Mrs. Potts carries him down the one flight of stairs to get to the kitchens. When in the kitchen, Adam says again, "num-num" and Mrs. Potts looks at him. "Peeeeeeee." She giggles at his attempt to say 'please' but accepts it. He's only 6 months old for crying out loud. Four chefs from the kitchen stop what they're doing and hold up plates for the baby Adam to choose from. He picks the one that smells like cake. He may be young, but he knows he likes cake. So Mrs. Potts sits him down to feed him and he throws a fit. The thing that smelled like cake definitely does NOT taste like cake. So one of the other chefs brings their dish over to him and he starts eating with no problems. After dinner, Mrs. Potts starts her strict nightly routine of picking up today's toys with Adam, giving him a bath, getting him dressed, and then tucking him into bed. Every night she resists the urge to kiss him on the forehead, in fear that the queen would have her beheaded. And she leaves the door ajar slightly so she can hear if he's crying in the middle of the night.

FAST FORWARD SIX MONTHS

Belle's birthday is everything she could have wished for, even if she was too young to tell her papa her wishes. They took a ride out to the countryside and had a picnic in a beautiful meadow and then read a book that was filled with every kind of flower the meadow had. To top off the trip, they pressed flowers into the book they were reading ABOUT said flowers. On the way home, they stopped at the bakery, where Belle got her first taste of cake. She found out that she loved chocolate by almost knocking a whole cake on her head reaching for more to taste. Maurice bought the whole cake and they went home. Content and happy.

It was Adam's birthday week. Everyday for the week leading up to his birthday, he was given a de-thorned rose, a present, and a slice of cake for breakfast. His parents were finally back from their diplomatic voyage and his mother, the queen, gave him a big kiss on his forehead. "I love you, my darling." She said. He looked at the strange woman and said, "you too."

On the day of Adam's actual birth, Mrs. Potts took Adam to the countryside and sat in a meadow. They sat and ate birthday cake listening to the gentle hum of birdsong and crickets. When they were done with their 'secret cake' they headed back to the castle, where the king and queen gave him his final present, a small wagon just his size that looked like their carriage. He was happy with his things, but nothing made him happier that day than having 'secret cake' with mama.

FAST FORWARD FOUR YEARS

Belle was growing up nicely. She was kind and sweet, as well as diligent in her studies and smart. For her fifth birthday, she was able to tell her papa exactly what she wanted. Oh, yes, she wanted to go to the meadow, or the traveling circus show that was in town, but there was something more that she wanted. "Papa, can you show me mama?" She asked, almost immediately making Maurice's eyes well with tears. "That I can do, little one." He said, unlocking a drawer that Belle never noticed before. It was a drawer on the bedside table, so that might be why, but now this drawer captivated her more than anything in the house ever had, and the house has had machines and robots and wall to wall carpeting for as long as she can remember. Maurice pulled out a box of pictures and one painting. "I guess it's time I give you this." Maurice said with a small sad smile. The painting was of her papa and mama standing together holding… her now. "I painted you in the center, because I wanted you to feel the love that we share for you." "What happened to mama, papa?" Belle asked while tracing the faces of the painting. "She… umm… passed." "Like the birdy did?" "Not exactly like the birdy did. The birdy passed because it got trapped and we didn't get to it soon enough to help… and your mother… when you were born… was just like the birdy… people couldn't get to her in time." He said, choking back tears. Belle understood that her questions were making her papa cry so she changed the subject. "What's the cake flavor this year?" "Would you believe that I baked it myself this year?" "I would, yes. But what flavor, papa?" "Love…" He said with a grin. Belle looked at him like she was about to laugh but tried to keep a serious face. "Ok. Ok. It's a banana cake with strawberry frosting." "That sounds fancy!" Belle said as she looked at the colorful concoction her papa made. "And I bet it does taste like love. I love you too, papa." She said, hugging him round the middle where she could just barely reach. He picked her up, and continued hugging her, lighting the candle for her to blow out. "Make a wish, little one." "Why? I have everything I need right here." But she closed her eyes and blew out the candle anyway, secretly wishing that she could see her mother once in her lifetime.

Adam, as he celebrated his birthday week, always wondered why that strange lady came to him on his birthday and kissed his forehead. It was strange to him, for even his own mama didn't kiss his forehead. This year, as Mrs. Potts and Adam came back from the traveling circus, they had their 'secret cake' in the carriage. As they approached the castle, everything looked completely normal. They went to the throne room holding hands to get his final present and a kiss from the strange lady. As they got to the throne room, Adam noticed that the strange lady wasn't there. Just the man. He asks, "What happened to the lady, mister?" And these words struck his dad almost as much as seeing his wife in the hospital wing. "That lady is your mother and I am your father. Come. Let's go see her." The king said getting up from his throne. "NO. No. That's not true! Tell him mama!" He said pleadingly at Mrs. Potts. She sighed softly, squatted down to be at his height, and held his hands a little tighter. "I wish it were a lie, for then you would be mine. But you ARE theirs. Let's go to the hospital, little one."

In the hospital, Adam saw his mom for the first time in his life, really saw her. She was pale and frail, and had something on her forehead that looked sticky or slimy. She had dark brown hair that was almost black and she had green eyes. He has green eyes. Aside from that, he saw nothing that connected him to this woman laying in bed. He had a perky nose, like Mrs. Potts, but also like the man who claimed to be his father. Another thing he noticed was that this man had lighter brown hair, just like him. He wanted to talk to 'his mother' so he walked up to the bed, still holding Mrs. Potts hand. The queen looked at Adam, suppressed a tear, and smiled. "I am so glad that I won't be leaving you alone, my dear. You'll still have your father and you'll still have your dear nanny." She practically whispered. "Save your strength dear." The king said, holding her hand on the other side of the bed. "I have strength enough for this." She said, as she rolled her head to the side and gave Adam a forehead kiss. "I love you, my dear. And I'm sorry we weren't there for you more. Your father should be able to be now. Isn't that right dear?" She said, rolling her head halfway again so she could give him a side eye. "Well… You see… I… Yes dear." He finally sputtered out.

After her passing, there was a memorial held in her honor, she was placed in the royal crypt, and then most people went on with their days. The king was not. He wallowed in depression for weeks after until eventually he left the castle, always on an expedition or voyage, and the longer the trip the better as far as he was concerned. Mrs. Potts tried to keep the same relationship she had with Adam, but finding out that she wasn't his mama really made his heart hurt. And through the weeks where his father was keeping his distance, he really wanted his Mrs. Potts, but found out that she was pregnant with her own child. That hurt him too and he ran to the garden to hide in the rose bushes.

FAST FORWARD FIVE YEARS